A New Journey
by Belletiger
Summary: They say that some friendships are so strong, they can transcend lifetimes. Ash dies but he reincarnates as a pokemon. A new live and new beginnings. But will he remember his friends from his past life? Remake of The Journey. Pokemon!Ash
1. Chapter 1

A New Journey  
By Belletiger

Chapter 1- The Death and The Life.

XXX

Ash and his group were very happy when they got an invitation from Cynthia herself to go to the Sinjoh Ruins. After the Sinnoh Pokémon League was over, Ash, Dawn, and Brock decided to go to the ruins with Cynthia as their last adventure before the group separated to go their own ways. To Ash's greatest surprise, Gary Oak was also there. As a researcher in training, Gary also wanted to see the ruins to learn more about the legend of Arceus and the Unown.

They were amazed with how the ancient people of Sinnoh and Johto had designed the temple inside of the ruins, but their fun was ruined when J came to the ruins. She wanted revenge on Ash and his friends for destroying her airship and ruining her hunts. She laughed crazily as she activated bombs she had set up throughout the ruins. The Champion and the young trainers tried to run as the explosion made the cave collapse and boulders fell and crushed the crazed J.

XXX

Brock coughed as he pushed some rocks off of him. He looked around to see if the others were okay.

"Cynthia! Dawn! Ash! Gary! Where are you? Are you okay?"

Then, Brock saw Cynthia helping Dawn to her feet. Brock noticed that Dawn had broken her leg from the impact of the explosion. Since Brock didn't have any serious injuries, he got up as they started to look for Ash and Gary, hoping they were alright. Suddenly, they heard Pikachu crying out in horror. Brock, Cynthia, and Dawn rushed toward where Pikachu's voice was coming from, but their path was blocked by boulders. Cynthia called out her Garchomp to help them remove the boulders.

XXX

Gary moaned in pain as he slowly opened his eyes. He coughed a few times as he heard Pikachu crying out in despair. Gary gasped, horrified when he saw his rival and childhood friend, Ash, trapped beneath a giant boulder that had completely crushed the right side of his body.

"Oh, sweet Arceus... Ash!" Gary cried out. He moved to reach out for Ash but soon discovered that he, too, was pinned in place, his left arm caught beneath a big boulder.

He tried to get his arm out from under the boulder, but it was too heavy. He realized that the only way to get out of there was… He didn't want to do that, but Ash's life was in danger. He had no choice.

"Pikachu! _Pikachu!_" Gary shouted to get the Pokémon's attention.

Pikachu turned around and saw Gary was there. Gary ordered Pikachu to get closer to him, and the Pokémon slowly obeyed.

"Pikachu, I know you know the Iron Tail move," Gary said as he looked at the yellow mouse. "I want you to use Iron Tail on my arm, to cut it off."

"Pika!"

"Please, Pikachu. It's the only way to help Ash."

Pikachu bit his lower lip. He looked first at Gary, then at Ash. He closed his eyes as his tail became metallic. Pikachu cried out as he used his move on Gary. Gary cried out in pain as he placed his hand on his bloody stump, where his limb used to be, and rushed towards Ash.

"Oh, Arceus, Ash…" Gary was too shocked. He kneeled beside his friend and softly touched his face, afraid that doing anything more would only cause Ash more pain.

Then, Ash started to cough as blood came out of his mouth.

"G-Gary…"

"Ash, thank Arceus you're alive," Gary said, relieved to see that Ash was still alive, even with a huge rock crushing his right side. "Don't talk, Ash. Try to save your energy; I am sure Cynthia and your friends have already called for help."

Ash couldn't help but chuckle softly. He knew Gary was trying to give him some hope, but he also knew it would be too late for him when the rescue finally arrived. He couldn't feel his right side anymore, and he was getting cold and sleepy: he was well aware that if he gave in to temptation and fell asleep, he wouldn't be waking up again.

"I wish…I wish we could have gone to Unova together in the spring..." Ash said very softly as tears rolled down his left cheek.

"_Don't say that!_" Gary shouted furiously as he held Ash's left hand with his right. "Don't say that, as if you're going to die. Don't say that…" Gary sobbed. He was no fool; he knew the chances of Ash surviving this were very slim.

Pikachu cried as Ash pulled his index finger and thumb away from Gary's grasp just enough to rub the electric mouse's left cheek pouch tenderly, and in response, he licked his trainer's face. He knew he couldn't do anything for him. He'd always known that death would separate them eventually, but he'd never imagined that Ash would be leaving him like this.

"I'm so sorry….Pikachu."

Ash's eyes closed as his body went limp, leaving him unable to hear Gary's and Pikachu's cries.

XXX

A few days later, Ash's body was buried in Pallet Memorial Cemetery. Delia had been crying ever since she'd heard that her only child had died. In fact, all of Pallet Town was now in tears over the loss of their young trainer. All of Ash's Pokémon were devastated, but the ones who took his death the hardest were Pikachu, Bayleaf, and Infernape. They almost never left Ash's tomb, only abandoning it long enough to eat, but they always returned to their fallen trainer.

Professor Oak tried to convince the Pokémon to leave, but his efforts were in vain. With the permission of the priests, the old professor had three small houses built near the cemetery to protect the Pokémon from the weather; that way, Pikachu, Bayleaf, and Infernape could be as close as they could to their fallen trainer at all times.

Gary was still at the hospital, unable to attend Ash's funeral. It had been almost two weeks since the unforgettable event and almost two weeks since Gary had fallen into a depression.

Brock entered Gary's room and found him lying down in his bed, dressed in hospital clothes. His eyes were blank and half-lidded, his gaze directed toward the sky through the window

.

"He already ate and had his medicine…" The nurse informed Brock.

"I see. Thank you."

She bowed immediately and left the room.

As Brock walked closer to the brunette, he took in the state of the poor figure before him. He couldn't blame Gary for being like that. He'd just lost not only his left arm, but his childhood friend, too. Gary suffered a serious mental breakdown, displaying loss of basic motor control and stupor since then. He had been mute and rigid and would maintain the same position for long periods of time. He showed little reaction to outside stimuli and would sometimes walk aimlessly inside the hospital's ground. Gary's family was thankful for the guarded entrances and exits to the hospital that prevented the younger teen from ending up in the streets in his current state.

Brock remembered the moment when they found him: He was missing his left arm, but holding Ash's hand with his right hand and not letting him go. Gary fought, cried, and even bit Brock; anything to not let go of Ash's hand. When the rescue came, they had to give him a tranquilizer. When Gary woke up the next day, he failed to give any reaction or response. Losing Ash before his eyes had been too much of a shock for Gary to handle.

"Gary?"

Gary looked to his right and saw Brock. He didn't give any response, only looking at him with lifeless eyes. Brock didn't need any response; Gary looking at him was enough, even with those lifeless eyes. The former gym leader took something from his pocket and placed it in Gary's hand. The young Oak blinked, confused as he saw what he had in his hand; it was the bottom half of a rusty, old Poké Ball. Brock saw a small reaction in Gary's eyes.

Encouraged, Brock finally spoke, "Ash told us once about the meaning behind this Poké Ball piece. You knew Ash better than any one of us, and I think he would want you to keep it."

Brock was about to leave when he heard a whispering voice.

"What?" Brock turned around and saw Gary holding the piece to his chest. When he got closer, he could finally hear Gary's voice.

"I want to go… I want to go to Unova…"

XXX

At the Sinjoh Ruins, Arceus, the creator of the universe, saw the soul of a young boy hugging his knees and crying. The great Pokémon could feel the soul's solitude.

"Ash…" Arceus called the soul's name softly.

The young soul looked up and saw the great Pokémon before him. More tears fell from his eyes, but this time from relief

.

"A-Arceus….? Is that really you?" Ash got up as he slowly walked towards to the great Pokémon. He hugged one of Arceus's legs, and he started to sob. "I know I am dead, but… but… I couldn't leave this place for some reason. It's like a barrier is blocking my way out of here."

Arceus looked softly to the one who had once saved him. He knew Ash had a strong heart, but he was still a fragile spirit. Being alone for a couple of weeks had been hard on him, especially after he'd died in such a brutal way.

"Sometimes, when a living being dies in a tragic way, as you did, the soul is trapped in the place where he or she had died," Arceus explained this to Ash. "I am very sorry for making you wait, but I needed to be sure that no one would be here, Ash."

"What do you mean?" He now looked confused.

Then, the great Pokémon started to explain that sometimes a human soul could become so special that Arecus would appear before him or her in death to give them two choices- to be reborn as a Pokémon, or to move on to the afterlife. Ash was now surprised; he hadn't known this was possible. Arceus told Ash that when his old human friend, Damos, had passed away, he had asked him if he wanted to go to heaven or be reborn as a Pokémon. Ash blinked, surprised as he asked Arceus what Damos had chosen.

"He asked to be reborn as a Pokémon. That way, he could be close to his family again, even though he was not able to retain any memories of his past life," Arceus answered to Ash.

Ash closed his eyes as he remembered everything he had gone through with his friends and Pokémon. He wanted to be with them again, to share all of the bad and good moments of their lives with them. He knew he had his answer.

"I want to be reborn, Arecus," he said. "I wanna feel life again and maybe see my friends in my next life."

"I understand, Ash." Arceus nodded to him, and Ash's soul floated to the level of Arceus's head. "Even if you meet your friends in your next life, you will be unable to remember them. When you reincarnate, all of your memories of your past life will be erased to leave space for the new ones in your new life."

Ash only looked at the great Pokémon with a soft smile on his lips. He closed his eyes as he placed his hand on his chest.

"Even if I will not remember them, my heart will because I believe my bonds with my friends are so strong, they can transcend a lifetime."

Arceus couldn't help but smile softly at him. Suddenly, all of his plates appeared around the great Pokémon as they started to glow. Ash's body began to glow, as well, as he looked at Arceus for the last time before going to his new life.

"So, what kind of Pokémon will I be reborn as?" Ash asked, understandably curious.

"Oh, that you will know soon enough," Arceus said to Ash. Ash could swear that Arceus was smirking.

Suddenly, Ash was surrounded by a pillar of light which blinded him. When Ash faded into the light, Arceus sighed softly as he wished Ash good luck in his new life and silently promised that he would always be watching him.

XXX

In a very far away land, a lone dark Pokémon was sleeping peacefully. Then, the dark Pokémon opened her eyes when she noticed a light outside of her lair. When she went outside, she saw no one was there, except for a blue egg in front of her. She blinked in confusion. The mistress of illusion, Zoroark, was wondering why anyone would leave an egg in front of her lair, when the egg suddenly glowed, and in the place of the egg was a small, blue puppy creature. Zoroark recognized the creature; it was a Riolu. The Riolu looked at Zoroark with his big, soft red eyes.

"Mommy?"

Zoroark's eyes widen in surprise when the Riolu called her "mommy". Then, she smiled softly to the puppy as she hugged him and nuzzled him in a very caring way. She didn't understand how an egg that had a Riolu in it had appeared, but she knew that she would be Riolu's mother.

To be continued

That's the remake of my Journey fanfic. I admit, I was not happy with the things I did in the orginal fic. This time, in this remake, we will have some of the same characters but with new names and a new storyline, but the focus will still be on Ash's journey as a Riolu in his new life. I will update the next chapter soon.


	2. Chapter 2

A New Journey

Chapter 2- New Friends

The Pokémon of the White Forest were chattering amongst themselves in excitement. The reason? A baby Riolu was the main subject of the forest. No one knew how that little Pokémon had come to their home; it was a mystery that not even Zoroark herself knew how to solve. All the dark Pokémon knew was that the baby Pokémon needed a mother, and Zoroark was happy to play that role.

Little Riolu was becoming a little nervous with the curious eyes of the other Pokémon of the forest staring at him. He got closer to his foster mother, being afraid of those staring eyes. Zoroark just smiled softly at her puppy.

"Don't worry, Blue," Zoroark stated softly, using the name she had given to him. "They are just curious. It's not every day they get to see a Pokémon that's not from around this forest."

The Riolu named Blue just nodded to his mother, but he was still feeling a bit uncomfortable with the eyes staring at him. Blue was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't see something hit him from behind, making him fall to the ground.

"Ow, ow," Blue moaned as he rubbed his nose. Zoroak kneeled beside him to see if her pup was hurt.

"Blue, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, mommy. Something hit me."

When they turned around, they saw a fallen Pidove. The little bird Pokémon groaned as she blinked her eyes, confused, before noticing the Zoroark and Riolu before her.

"AHH! Please, don't eat me!" yelled the bird Pokémon in panic to the two canine Pokémon.

Blue and Zoroak sweatdropped at the terrified bird Pokémon. Blue tried to calm down the little bird, saying that they would not eat her. That had made the bird relax enough to introduce herself to the duo.

"My name is Sora the Pidove. Sorry for hitting you; I was learning how to fly," the little bird Pokémon said before she noticed that Blue was a Pokémon she had never seen before in the White Forest. " By the way, what kind of Pokémon are you?"

"Oh, I'm a Riolu," Blue said to the bird Pokémon, smiling. "My name is Blue."

"A Riolu? I've heard about you; I think my father saw your kind once when he flew to Sinnoh for the winter," Sora commented as she remembered all the stories that her parents had told her about their various migratory journeys. "Oh yeah, I need to return to my nest!"

The little bird Pokémon flapped her wings, but she only managed to fly a few centimeters before falling to the ground again. Sora whined in pain as Blue and Zoroark sweatdropped at the bird's situation.

"Er…. Mommy, do you mind if I take her back to her nest?" Blue asked his mother.

Zoroark blinked at Blue's request. She really didn't want to leave her child with a bird that couldn't fly yet, but she saw the determination in his eyes. Her eyes softened as she petted the top of his head.

"Alright Blue, but I want you back in the lair before dusk."

Blue smiled as he hugged his mother, thanking her for letting him take Sora back to her nest. He promised he would be back home before dusk.

In the woods, Blue and Sora talked to each other. Blue was happy that he'd finally made a new friend, and he thought Sora was very cool. He liked how the bird talked about the trips her parents would take for the great migration they do every winter, only returning when spring comes, and she also told him how much she was eager to join the great migration with her parents when the winter comes.

They finally arrived at Sora's tree. The Unfezant couple thanked Blue for bringing their daughter safely back to their nest. Sora waved goodbye to Blue and promised that they would play together in the fields the next day. Blue smiled as he walked off to go back to his lair.

On his way back, Blue's path was blocked by a yellow, bipedal, mustelid-like Pokémon with round ears, red eyes, round black 'eyebrows,' and a pink nose with a whisker on each side. Its red arms looked similar to flared sleeves, and the paws were yellow. The creature was a Mienfoo.

"So, you're the Riolu I heard about?" the mustelid-like Pokémon said, smirking. Then, he pointed a finger at Blue and declared triumphantly, "I challenge you to a fight!"

Blue sweatdropped. Why was this guy challenging him? He didn't even know him. Besides, he was just a few days old; he wasn't ready to fight yet.

"I'm not fighting with you," Blue said to the other Pokémon.

The mustelid-like Pokémon fell to the ground; he didn't expect the other fighting Pokémon to refuse his challenge.

"What the heck?" yelled Mienfoo furiously. "You were supposed to say 'Yes, I accept your challenge!' and make a fighting pose! You weren't supposing to refuse the challenge!"

"Why would I accept your challenge? I'm only a few days old…." Blue muttered. He just wanted to go home already.

"Hey, even if you're a few days old, you should still know some fighting moves." Mienfoo said as he crossed his front limbs pridefully. "After I hatched, I already knew some fighting moves like Force Palm and Jump Kick. And I'm only a few days old, too."

Mienfoo blinked as he noticed Blue was walking off, ignoring him. An angry vein appeared in his forehead. He didn't like to be ignored.

"Hey, don't ignore me!"

Mienfoo threw himself onto an unsuspecting Blue, and both the fighting Pokémon rolled down and crashed into a tree. They noticed some Kakuna hanging down from the tree. Mienfoo's eyes widened in horror.

"Ah, crap…"

Suddenly a bunch of Beedrill came out. Blue and Mienfoo cried out as they run away from the angry bug Pokémon.

They ran as fast as they could to avoid being killed by the angry Pokémon. Then, Blue noticed a small hole in a tree, and acting quickly, hee grabbed Mienfoo and pulled them both into the tiny niche. Blue sighed in relief as he watched the Beedrill fly away without noticing them.

"They're gone now."

Mienfoo looked at him with unsuppressed awe.

"You… you saved me," Mienfoo whispered, gingerly sitting up. Blue slid out of the tree, blinking slowly.

"Yeah, it was no problem at all," Blue said, smiling.

"Please, forgive this lowly Pokémon's thoughtless actions!" The Mienfoo's voice, suddenly loud and pleading, caused Blue's eyes to fly open. He was taken aback by the sight of Mienfoo prostrating on the ground, his forehead touching the grass.

"Calm down. There's no need for this."

"No, my kind has a code of honor!" he shouted. "I will stay by your side until my debt is paid! By the way, my name is Green! What's the name of my savior?"

Blue sweatdropped. He thought that Green was overreacting.

"It-It's Blue."

"Blue, until my debt is paid, I will stick by your side all the time, day and night."

With that, the mustelid-like Pokémon walked off with a slight spring in his step, leaving a very confused Blue behind. Blue groaned as he buried his face in his paws. The last thing he needed was a crazy stalker!

"_I will stick with you until you pay me back for my bike!"_

Blue blinked, confused as he looked around for the source of that mysterious voice, only to discover that no one was there. Where had that voice come from?

To be continued

AN: I hope you have liked this chapter's upgrades. Expect more in the future chapters, but I plan to keep some old stuff from the original story. Now, do not forget to review. And send suggestions on what upgrades you would like to see in the future chapters.

And I want to thank to Flock o' Seagulls for beat- editing.


	3. Chapter 3

A New Journey  
By Belletiger  
Chapter 3- Loss

It has been several months since Blue met his new friends, Sora the Pidove and Green the Mienfoo. Blue liked Sora; she was very kind, always happy to share her berries with them. Green was also cool, as long he wasn't trying to protect him from everything all day in an attempt to pay off that supposed debt. Green often took his duties as Blue's bodyguard to incredible extremes; he once destroyed one of Blue's favorite kind of berries right as he was getting ready to pop it into his mouth because there was a small worm inside of it. Blue often found himself wishing that Green could just forget about the debt.

One bright, shining morning, Blue and Green used some vines and twigs to make a couple of rods to fish for food while Sora was training with her parents to learn how to fly better; she needed to be prepared for the great migration since winter was just around the corner. The leaves of the trees were already falling and had turned various shades of red and brown, substituting their usual green color.

Blue yawned. It wasn't because he was bored from the fishing; a couple of days ago, he'd started having odd dreams, hearing voices that sounded familiar somehow, but he couldn't see who they belonged to. The only ones who knew about his dreams were Sora and Green. Blue didn't tell his mother about his dreams because he didn't want to worry her.

"Still having those dreams?" Green asked his friend.

"Yeah…." Blue replied, yawning again. "I dunno why I keep having those weird dreams. I hear voices, but I can't see who they belong to."

"Why don't you see Flora? She might be able to help you with those dreams," Green said to his friend.

"The Dream Eater? Nah, no thanks. I don't want her telling my mother about my dreams. I don't want to worry her."

Flora was a Munna living in the White Forest. She liked to help Pokémon who have sleeping problems, especially with nightmares, but Blue's problem wasn't really nightmares; he felt they were not dreams at all. In fact, they seemed more like lost memories. The blue dog Pokémon decided to change the subject.

"So, what are you going to do for the winter, Green?" Blue asked. "This will be our first winter, and I know Sora will be very far away with her parents and the other bird Pokémon from the forest. We won't see her again until spring."

"Dude, I won't see you until spring, either," Green said as Blue blinked, confused. "My mother and I will hibernate, and we'll only wake up when spring arrives."

"Wait! Are you telling me I'll be alone all winter?" Blue was totally shocked. Why had Green waited until now to tell him this?

"Sorry Blue," Green said with an apologetic look, "but in the winter, it will only be you and your mother."

Blue sighed; he couldn't believe he would be spending his first winter alone. Then, he and Green pulled on their fishing rods at the same time, only to find out they had just caught a pair of old boots.

"Blue, I might not be there for you in the winter, but…" The little Mienfoo held out his paw, clenched softly around a small object, and handed it to Blue.

The Riolu looked confused when he saw a shining and colored stone in his paws. He wondered what that stone was; it seemed different from an evolution stone.

"My mama said my papa was from a very faraway place. She said papa gave this stone to her in the hopes that she would become stronger, but nothing happened. We know this stone is special, but we think it doesn't work for our kind," Green explained. "I want you to have it."

"But this stone belongs to you. I can't accept it."

Green smiled as he placed his paws in Blue's.

"Please, Blue, I insist. May this stone help you to survive the winter."

Blue sighed as he looked at the stone in his paw once more. He looked at Green as he kindly accepted the stone.

Some weeks later, the snow began to fall, blanketing the White Forest in its namesake color. Sora and her group had already left for Sinnoh to spend the winter there, while Green and his mother had already begun hibernating in their den.

Zoroark used her mane to keep Blue warm. Like every winter, finding food was hard, and Zoroark had to look all over the forest for some frozen berries and Pokémon to hunt to feed themselves. Zoroark and Blue were eating a Watchog that Zoroark had hunted down when Zoroark felt a presence; they were not alone.

"Mommy?" Blue questioned hesitantly as he noticed his mother's odd behavior.

Zoroark had no time to answer as she took her pup in her arms and jumped away as darts struck the ground where they had been a second ago. Zoroark growled as two humans, a male and a female wearing an odd black uniform, approached them.

"So, the rumors were true," the male said. "There's really a Zoroark with a Riolu in this forest."

"You can have Zoroark. I'll have that Riolu," said the female.

Zoroark growled as she ran off with Blue in her arms. The dark fox Pokémon could hear the howls of a pack of Stoutland. This was really bad; while she could fool the humans with her illusions, she couldn't fool a pack of Stoutland because they would still be able to follow her scent. Zoroark found a hole in the top of a tree, most likely made by a bird Pokémon. She climbed the tree, and she noticed no one was inside of the hole. She sighed in relief; it was one of the few times that Zoroark was thankful for the birds' migration to Sinnoh for winter. The hollow was big enough to comfortably hide Blue.

"Blue, stay here," Zoroark said as she placed Blue in the hole.

"But Mommy, what about you?" Blue asked, worried about his mother's safety.

"Don't worry about me, Blue," Zoroark said softly. "Please, stay quiet and do not get out for any reason until I return."

"But Mommy…" Blue whined as Zoroark softly petted his head.

"I'm sorry, Blue…"

Blue's eyes widened, horrified as he remembered the last dream he'd had. The dream had a lot of blood, and he could see a bloody hand petting a strange yellow mouse with red cheeks, the owner of the hand saying almost the same thing that his mother had just said while the yellow mouse cried and licked his face. Before Blue could say anything else, Zoroark struck the back of his neck, making him fall unconscious.

XXX

Blue groaned in pain as he rubbed the back of his neck, right in the spot where his mother had hit him. He tried to remember why his mother had hit him, and he gasped in horror when he remembered the human duo and the pack of Stoutland following them.

"Mommy!"

Blue quickly got out of the hole. He forgot that he was in the top of a tree, until he slipped and fell to the ground. Luckily, the snow had softened his fall, but that didn't matter for Blue now; his main concern was his mother. He started to look for her, calling for her several times around the forest but without any success.

But he didn't give up, not even when the snow started to fall again. He was freezing, scared, and alone. He was sobbing as he continued calling for his mother. Then, he gasped in shock when he saw a large figure before him. It was a stag-like quadruped Pokémon, aqua-blue in coloration. Its yellow horns somewhat resembled thunderbolts, and its snout was a slightly lighter blue than its fur. Blue recognized the Pokémon before him; it was Cobalion, one of the legendary fighting Pokémon. He was just like the description his mother had given him once. But what was he doing there?

"Your mother can't be with you anymore," The legendary Pokémon said.

Blue's eyes widened in horror. No, that couldn't be true; his mother couldn't be gone. He fell to his knees as he started to sob. He was now alone without his mother.

"Your mother asked me to take care of you should something happen to her," Cobalion said to the small Pokémon.

Blue didn't react to the legendary Pokémon's words, and Cobalion couldn't blame him; losing his mother at such a young age was almost certainly very hard for him.

"Come, young one. I will take you to your new home."

Blue didn't say anything, only nodded to the legendary Pokémon as he started to follow him. Blue looked behind him one last time to catch a final glimpse of his home forest, as it would probably be a while until he would be able to return. Blue gritted his teeth; he would never forgive the humans who'd taken his mother away from him.

To be continue

A/N: There is the third chapter. There was not much change from the original chapter, except Green giving him a special stone. Can anyone guess what this stone is? Stay tuned for the next chapter! PLZ, do not forget to review the chapter.

I want to thanks to Flock o' Seagulls for beta editing the the chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

A New Journey

Chapter 4- Lucario

"Blah blah"- human speech

"( blah blah)"- Pokémon speech

XXX

An airplane descended and hit the runway before it came to a complete stop, and the other passengers started to move, collecting their carry-on luggage and Pokémon.

A young brown-haired man exited the plane and followed everyone to the carousel where the bags were supposed to be picked up, stopping on the way to grab a cart to make it easier to carry his luggage outside. He quickly grabbed his bags with some difficulty since he only had one arm, but he managed to get them onto the cart and started pushing it towards the exit.

_"I'm finally here, Ash,"_ the young man thought himself._ "I am finally in Unova."_

The young man was Gary Oak, four years after the tragic event that had taken Ash's life and left a permanent scar in his heart. Though he still had plans to be a researcher like his grandfather, he wanted to see Unova to meet new people and Pokémon alike- to fulfill Ash's dying wish. He would do it for both their sakes.

XXX

Floccesy Ranch is a small farm adjacent to a river. According to the owner, it started when a fence was made to protect Pokémon. Nowadays, many different species of wild Pokémon, including several not originally native to Unova, can be found there. Many rookie trainers and young children can interact with tame Mareep, which roam freely. A small forest is located behind the ranch.

A young dark-haired boy was in the forest, looking for a lost Herdier. Because of a traumatic event from his past, he feared the Herdier might be lost forever.

"Herdier, where are you?" The boy whispered to himself.

"Are you lost?"

The boy yelped as he quickly turned around. He saw a young boy who appeared to be around the same age as him with black hair tied in a small ponytail, a blue jacket, a light yellow shirt, blue pants, and black boots, but what really caught the dark-haired boy's attention was that this mysterious boy had red eyes.

"Don't scare me like that! You almost gave me a heart attack!" he shouted at the boy.

The red-eyed boy just chuckled as he put his hands up as a passive gesture to the angry boy.

"My apologizes; that wasn't my intention," the red-eyed boy said. He offered his hand as he continued, "My name is Blue."

The dark-haired boy turned away. "Hugh," he said coldly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm looking for a Herdier."

"What a coincidence; the Pokémon around here are also worried about the Herdier, and they asked me to find him," Blue said as he kneeled and placed his hand on the grassy ground.

"And how do you suppose you'll help if you're on your knees?" Hugh said impatiently.

"Simple; all I need to do is feel his Aura, and everything is connected to Aura."

With that, he closed his eyes as a blue aura surrounded him. Then, he saw several images in his mind until he found what he was looking for.

"Found him."

XXX

"Calm down, doggy; no need get nervous," said the Team Plasma Grunt.

The Herdier was stil growling at the stranger. He could feel that this man in black was a danger to his home.

"TEAM PLASMA!"

The Plasma Grunt turned around and saw Blue and Hugh glaring at him.

"I knew you had something to do with Herdier's disappearance! You guys are the worst! You talk about saving Pokémon, but you're just Pokémon thieves! Don't think I'll ever forgive you!" Hugh shouted at the Team Plasma Grunt.

Blue stared at Hugh with a blank expression on his face. He knew something was up with this Hugh guy. He was just like him; something very important to him had been taken away from him, too.

"Ha! Do you seriously believe two brats like you can take me out? Think again!"

Then, the Plasma Grunt threw a Poké Ball and released a Watchog, ready to battle. Hugh gritted his teeth as he prepared to call out one of his own Pokémon, but before he could, Blue reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him from throwing his Poké Ball.

"Let me take care if this."

Blue slowly walked towards the Team Plasma Grunt. The Grunt ordered his Pokémon to attack, but nothing happened. He noticed that his Pokémon was paralyzed with fear. What the…. How had _that_ happened? The Grunt didn't have time to ponder this mystery; he wasn't even able to conjure another thought when a dark shadow fell over him, and he looked up to find himself face to face with Blue. Before he could do anything, Blue slammed his fist in the Grunt's face, giving him a powerful punch. Hugh gasped in surprise when he saw the Grunt fly back against a tree, showing just how powerful the punch was. Blue turned to look at the Grunt's Watchog, which was quivering in fear.

"I suggest you return to your Poké Ball," Blue said with a kind smile.

Watchog yelped in fear as he quickly returned to his Poké Ball. Hugh's jaw dropped. What just happened there?

"Well, I have other things to do. Can you take care of the rest?" Blue asked, smiling. Hugh only nodded. "Thank you. I may see you around."

With that, Blue disappeared into the nearby forest. At the same time, the owner of the farm came to see if everything was alright. Hugh only looked in the direction where Blue had disappeared.

XXX

In the middle of the forest, Blue was walking without a care in the world. Then, he stopped and smiled.

"I know you're there. You can come out."

Out of the brush emerged a Riolu, a Lillipup, and an Azurill. They looked at Blue before the little Riolu spoke for them.

"( Er... Thank you for finding Uncle Herdier. The owner was worried.)" the Riolu shyly said.

"No problem. I was happy to help you," Blue said to the Pokémon.

"(Uh …. Mister, who are you, really?)" Azurill asked.

"(What Azurill meant is we know you're not human,)" Lillipup said before sniffing Blue. "(Your smell is similar to Riolu's.)"

"Well, I guess I can show you guys, since my illusions can't fool Pokémon's sense of smell."

Just like that, the human known as Blue suddenly transformed, leaving a bipedal, jackal-like Pokémon in his place. Its forepaws were black, and it had one white spike on each arm on the upper-side of its wrists. In addition, there was a third spike on its chest. The creature also had a furry cream-colored torso, and its thighs were in the shape of what looked like blue shorts. Also, the Pokémon stood on the balls of its feet, rather than on its entire foot. The Pokémon was Lucario- the Aura Pokémon.

"(Wow! You're a Lucario!)" Riolu exclaimed. He'd never have imagined that he would see his evolved form within the farm.

"(Wait… I never heard about Lucario that can take a human form,)" Lillipup said, suspicious of the odd Lucario.

Blue smirked as he said that creating illusions was not that hard. He figured out a way to use his Aura to create illusions just like his mother once did, but his illusions were not as perfect as his mother's since he couldn't fool mirrors and any reflective surface would show his true form.

"(Why can you also speak human language?)" asked Azurill, curious. It was rare for a Pokémon to be able to speak in human language.

"I have my reasons," he said before looking at the baby Pokémon. "Are there any psychic Pokémon living around here?"

"( Well, there's the old Alakazam who lives in a hidden grotto on the other side of the river. Why?)"

"I need his help to teleport me back home. To the White Forest."

To be continued.

Ta-dah, here is the new chapter. And surprise, I added Hugh. I love Hugh and it's a shame he never made it into the anime. I bet he would have been a good character for the anime series.

And guess what? Its my birthday today! Yeah! As present, I want a lot of reviews for this chapter ^^  
I want to thank to Flock o' Seagulls for beat- editing.


	5. Chapter 5

The Journey  
Chapter 5- Reunion With Old Friends  
By Belletiger

"Blah blah"- human speech  
"(Blah blah)" – Pokémon speech

XXX

Blue smiled as he looked around White Forest in his true form. He had really missed this place so much and felt more than just a little bit nostalgic as he started to remember all the adventures he'd had with Green and Sora. He couldn't help but chuckle when he remembered all of the things that he and Green had done when they were young. He wondered if Green and Sora had evolved like he did. Then, he felt the presence of a familiar Aura. He smirked as he blocked the kick of a Mienshao.

"Hello, Green. I see you also evolved," Blue said to his childhood friend.

"(Don't you 'Hello, Green' me!)" snapped Green angrily at Blue. "(It's been four seasons and you never visited any of us once.)"

Green used a Thunder Punch as Blue used an Ice Punch to block his attack. After many punches, tons of kicks, and several Aura Spheres, Blue and Green collapsed to the ground, panting and covered with dirt and scratches.

After recovering enough of his energy, Green finally asked: "(Why did you never return? I heard what happened to Zoroark and that you were adopted by the great Cobalion. I thought I would see you again after you learned enough to take of yourself.)"

Blue sighed. He had expected this kind of question since it had been almost 4 years since he'd last seen any of his friends. He'd only evolved into a Lucario last year, but at the time, he hadn't wanted to return yet. He wanted to find clues about the humans who'd captured his mother.

"I'll admit I evolved last season, but I couldn't return here yet because I wanted to search for clues about the humans who captured my mother first."

Green's eyes widened in surprise. "(Wait a sec…I thought your mother was dead.)"

"No, she's not. From what I could find, it looks like those hunters sold her to some human organization named Team Plasma. I've dealt with some members from that organization, but none of them knew my mother's whereabouts. I need you and Sora to helpme to find her."

Green's eyes widened even further with shock. Was he really asking this- asking for help to find his mother, without any idea where she was? Green didn't really want to leave the forest, but at the same time, he really wanted to see the world outside of the forest; on the other hand, he was terrified of being captured by humans since he was an evolved Pokémon. Blue smiled as he told him to not to worry about humans capturing him before getting up to show Green his human form. Green's jaw dropped in pure shock as Blue smirked. Blue explained that, since he'd mastered his Aura power, he was also able to use illusions like his mother, and by using one such illusion to disguise himself as a human, he was able to walk among the humans without needing to worry about being captured. He also told Green about how he'd learned to speak human language to make his disguise perfect.

"Of course, my illusions aren't perfect like my mother's. I need to avoid reflective surfaces, or else I'll be caught," Blue said as he pointed to his reflection in the nearby lake. Needless to say, Green was speechless. Blue also told him that he would be able to disguise Green with an illusion, as well, as long as he stayed in close proximity to him while the illusion was in effect, and he would even teach him how to speak in human language.

"(Well, Blue, you've already convinced me,)" Green said, smirking. He could already tell that it would be fun to be able to travel around the continent with Blue. "(But I don't think Sora will be able to come with us.)"

Blue blinked, confused, as he dropped the illusion on him.

"Why?"

"(Well, I think it's better if you see for yourself.)"

Blue was totally surprised when he saw Sora; she was now a big and elegant Unfezant. But what surprised him the most was that his friend was incubating eggs; soon, she would be a mother. Blue smiled as he hugged his friend, congratulating her. Sora was very happy to see her friend again. She gave an apologetic look to him, since she wouldn't be able to go with them.

"Nah, no worries Sora. The important thing is for you to stay with your chicks. A mother should always be with her children."

Sora and Green looked at their friend with sympathetic eyes. They knew how hard it had been for Blue to be separated from his mother, especially at such a young age. Sora nuzzled Blue and wished the best of luck for both of them. Blue thanked her as he and Green left the forest.

Green was surprised when Blue covered him with an illusion. He now looked like a human, with white hair tied in a long braid, wearing a white and purple Chinese shirt with long sleeves, a pair of purple pants, and black shoes. Green was amazed with his human form as he commented that he felt it suited him very well. Blue reminded Green to always stay near him so that the illusion wouldn't wear off.

XXX

It had been several months since Blue and Green left White Forest. The Lucario was surprised to discover that his friend was a quick learner; it had only taken him one month to master the human language perfectly while Blue had taken more than three months to perfect his human speech.

They were on their way to Nimbasa City; when Green asked why they were going there, Blue explained that he'd heard from some Pokémon that there were strange activities happening there, and Blue believed that the humans who'd taken his mother were involved somehow. He also felt he could gain some new information since Nimbasa City is one of Unova's biggest city.

After a few days on the road, their ears picked up on some strange noises right as their noses detected the scent of some humans and a Pokémon coming down the road. They saw a bunch of small human children riding on their tricycles with a Pokémon tagging along, which they soon recognized as a Trubbish. Suddenly, the children started to throw mudballs at Blue and Green, which caught them off guard.

"What the heck was that for?" Green asked as he removed the mud from his face.

The kids laughed as they went away on their tricycles, and Blue followed them with his eyes, glaring all the while.

"That's one of the reasons why I don't like human children," Blue muttered darkly as he tried to remove the layers of mud from his face.

Then, a young woman and an elderly woman suddenly approached to see if they were alright.

"I'm so sorry!" the young woman said, bowing to them apologetically. "Those children are from my kindergarten school."

XXX

After that, Green and Blue were taken by the two women to the daycare to clean themselves. Upon entering, their eyes shined as they saw Pokémon eggs inside of incubators. Blue felt the Auras in the eggs; they were filled with love- a motherly love. The loving Aura was from the elderly woman.

The older woman introduced herself as the Pokémon Day Care owner, Karena, as well as introducing the kindergarten teacher as her granddaughter, Daniela. After Blue and Green cleaned themselves, Daniela explained that the Pokémon they saw earlier was a Trubbish and that the children had found it in a scrapyard near the school and brought it to school one day without her permission.

"I see," Blue said, folding his arms. "So, what's the problem? The children just want to keep it."

Daniela then explained that the children claimed the Trubbish was crying from loneliness and they wanted to be its friend. She was very much against the Trubbish staying, as they were naturally more comfortable in trash filled environments, and it would only make the school dirty. She told them as much, but the children pleaded for her to let it stay, claiming they'd clean up after the Trubbish. While Daniela argued with the children, Trubbish released a cloud of rancid air that caused everyone to initially cringe, but the children later claimed they could handle the stench; however, Daniela's mind was already made up as she picked up the Trubbish and returned it to the scrapyard. She explained it was nothing personal to the Trubbish and returned to the schoolyard. Karena added that the morning Blue and Green had arrived, they found a large pile of garbage surrounding a large tree in the playground. Daniela explained that the children and Trubbish worked together to create what she calls a secret base.

"Really, I just wanted to avoid this issue for today," Karena said, a worried tone in her voice. "You see, we're supposed to be getting a visitor from Kanto sometime today."

"Visitor?" asked Green, confused.

Just then, they heard the doorbell rang. The older woman thought it might be her visitor as she went to the door to invite the visitor into the daycare. Green muttered to Blue, asking what they should do. Blue simply said they should leave since the issue of Trubbish and the human children was not their business and that they should head into Nimbasa City soon.

"Ah, Professor Oak, I'm glad you could make it," Karena said as they entered the room. Blue froze as he heard the name "Professor Oak."

"The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Karena, but please, call me Gary; Professor Oak is my grandfather," a male voice replied.

Then, the human named Gary froze as he turned and saw Blue. His eyes widened in pure surprise, perfectly mirroring the way Blue was staring at him. For some reason, he felt as though he knew this human, but how? He'd never seen this human before in his life, yet he felt a faint tickle of recognition that told him this human was somehow close to him.

They stood like this for several moments, simply staring at each other, until Gary finally broke the silence, his voice low and unsure as he called out weakly, "A-Ash?"

"What?" Blue replied sharply, recoiling slightly from the shock of hearing that name. He couldn't help it. He was remembering one of his dreams: he'd heard a voice calling out that name in a tone that could only be described as fearful and worried, and upon closer inspection, Blue realized that Gary's voice and the voice from his dream were almost exactly alike, only the voice from his dream had sounded several years younger.

"Ash?" Gary called out again, taking a hesitant step toward the disguised Pokémon.

When Blue heard that name again, a wave of images appeared in his head, and it felt as if his mind was being pierced by a million needles. Before Gary could say anything, Blue pushed him aside and ran off with Green hot on his heels. Karena asked Gary if he knew what had just happened, and when she didn't receive a response, she crossed to his side to see if he was alright. The elderly woman blinked, confused, as she saw that the young researcher's face was drained of all color and that he was trembling as he stared at the exit where Blue had made his escape, making him look as if he'd just seen a ghost.

XXX

"What the heck was that, Blue?" Green asked, worried about his friend.

Both were in their true forms, somewhere in the forest. Blue was quivering as he hugged his legs. Green had never seen Blue act like this before. The only thing that even came close was the time when Blue was still a Riolu and had a terrible nightmare about Pokémon fighting each other to death, a strange Pokémon with an angry Aura, and a human sacrificing his life to stop the fight.

"That human….. I know him…." Blue whispered as Green sat beside his friend, worried.

"What do you mean?"

" That human with a single arm… he was in my dreams…."

"What…?"

"One of my dreams…. I saw that human, only he was younger, covered in blood….. and he had a yellow Pokémon… Both of them were crying, and…. urgh…."

Blue cradled his head in his hands as another wave of pain struck him. There were too many images floating through his mind for him to process them all, and it felt like someone was jabbing a million needles into his brain all at once. Green stared at his friend and rival, wishing there was something he could do to help him when the young Lucario suddenly collapsed, unable to hear his friend's cries.

XXX

At the Pokémon Daycare, Karena was offering the young researcher some tea to calm him down. Gary had yet to recover after seeing Blue at the daycare, still quivering and very pale.

"Young Gary, why are you like this after you saw that boy?" the older woman asked gently to the young researcher.

After drinking his tea and calming himself down enough, Gary answered the older woman. "That boy….. He looks like a friend of mine… a friend that passed away four years ago…."

"I am sorry, Gary. It must have been hard for you," Daniela said.

Gary still had nightmares about Ash's death, reliving the horror of seeing the boulder crush him and watching him die while he held his hand countless times. It had taken Gary almost three years of therapy to snap him out of his depression and almost one year to convince his family to let him go to Unova, since he wanted to fulfill Ash's last wish.

"That's alright," Gary said, softly, "but let's change the subject; I heard you're having problems with your kindergarten children?"

XXX

Blue groaned as he opened his eyes to see Green beside him, the fighting Pokémon looking beyond relieved to see his rival regain consciousness. Blue looked around and immediately noticed that they were in some sort of shelter.

"(Ah, you're awake.)"

Blue turned to his right and saw a Trubbish, the same one that was with those children earlier. Blue sat up and looked at the poison Pokémon.

"Where am I?"

"(Your friend brought you here after you fainted. Don't worry; the kids won't come here until tomorrow morning. We have a lot of time before they arrive,)" Trubbish said, smiling to him. Then, the small poison Pokémon gave him some berries to eat. "(Here, your friend brought these for you.)"

Blue blinked, confused as he glanced at Green, who was getting ready to sleep in the corner of the shelter. The Aura Pokémon took one of the berries and started to eat it.

"Why are you with those human children?"

Trubbish blinked, then smiled as he answered Blue, "(Because those children saved me from solitude. You see, I am not exactly the most popular of the Pokémon, but those children find me cute and adopted me. Not all humans are bad, you know?)"

Blue didn't say anything. He just stared at his berries. He still could not forgive the humans for taking his mother away from him. While he was still living with Cobalion, he met Terrakion and Virizion. They shared Blue's disdain for humans and told him that humans could not be trusted. But his travels and his dreams had shown him that not all humans were bad, and he felt in those children's Auras that they really liked Trubbish. Maybe not all human were bad, after all.

To be continued…..

Here is the fifth chapter. I hope you like it. Soon there will be more chapters. Meanwhile, plz, do not forget to review it. ^^

I want to thank to Flock o' Seagulls for beat- editing.


	6. Chapter 6

A New Journey  
Chapter 6- Spirit Shrine

XXX

At a Pokémon Center, Gary Oak was in the cafeteria while Nurse Joy healed his Pokémon, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. He was still thinking about that boy, Blue. He would swear Blue was Ash's spitting image, except for those red eyes, but why had that young boy reacted so strangely when he accidentally called him Ash? Gary sighed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out two halves of a broken Poké Ball.

He still remembered the fight he'd had with Ash over the old Poké Ball before they accidentally broke it in two like it was yesterday. Since then, they'd decided to keep the two separate pieces for themselves, but after Ash's untimely death, Brock gave him Ash's piece, which Gary kept as a memento of his deceased friend.

Gary sighed as he shoved the pieces back in his pocket and drank some coffee. The young researcher blinked when he saw a photo in the newspaper; it was May. He hadn't seen the coordinator since she'd gone to Johto. According to the news article, Unova was finally having its first Pokémon Contest; the most popular coordinators from around the world were gathering at Nimbasa City to help kick the Contest off, and by sheer coincidence, Gary was on his way to Nimbasa City, as well. Gary thought for a moment; this could be a good opportunity to talk to May, especially since they hadn't seen each other in quite a long time. Then, he heard the signal; his Pokémon were already healed. Time to hit the road again.

XXX

In Pinwheel Forest, Hugh sighed as he looked at his second badge in his badge case. He was happy to have gotten his second badge and even managed to evolve some members of his Pokémon team in the process, but deep down, he still didn't feel that he'd become strong enough to deal with Team Plasma. The last time he faced them, he'd needed Roxie's help. The Gym Leader of Virbank City could be very poisonous when she wanted to be.

Hugh started to think about that guy he met at Floccesy Ranch and the way he dealt with that Plasma Grunt. From what the Herdier- yes, Hugh was able to understand Pokémon language- had said, that mysterious boy's Aura had been filled with rage and an intent to kill, and that was what he'd used to leave the Wacthog they were battling paralyzed with fear. How that guy had managed to do that was still up to speculation.

"Team Plasma... I will never forgive those guys," Hugh muttered darkly.

Then, he heard a noise. He turned around and saw the bushes moving, and suddenly, a small goat-like Pokémon emerged from the bushes and tackled Hugh right in the stomach. Hugh groaned in pain as he fell to his knees, while the goat-like Pokémon began hopping merrily around Hugh, oblivious of the pain she had just caused for the poor, young Trainer.

"Skiddo, no!" shouted a voice.

Hught looked up and saw a young man running towards him. It was Gary.

"Oh, Arceus. I am so sorry! Are you alright?"

"What do you think?!" Hugh snapped, still holding his sore stomach. "And what is that thing?!"

With some difficulty, Hugh took his Pokédex from his pocket and pointed it at the goat-like Pokémon, but to his surprise, it couldn't find any available data on the strange Pokémon.

"Sorry, but I don't think you'll find any data about Skiddo here," Gary said to Hugh. "By the way, my name's Gary."

"Hugh," he replied, still in pain.

After that, Gary and Hugh decided to set up camp together. Once they'd gotten everything prepared for the night, Gary set to work cooking something while Skiddo enjoyed some Pokémon food. Hugh, meanwhile, was resting his back against a tree and still holding his stomach, though he was already feeling a lot less pain than he had initially after Skiddo's unexpected Tackle.

"Sorry about Skiddo here," Gary said, embarrassed, as he looked at Skiddo. "She's still young and has a bad habit of tackling people, but she only does it because she wants to read people's feelings. She did that to me, too, when we first met," Gary said as he offered a bowl of warm soup to Hugh.

"She wants to read people's feelings?" Hugh repeated, confused.

"That's right. This Pokémon is from the Kalos region. They say that Skiddo typically have a gentle nature and are said to be the first Pokémon to live alongside humans. Because of this relationship, Skiddo don't mind carrying people or supplies on their back; in fact, they've developed the ability to read the feelings of their riders through the grip on their horns. Well, in this case, Skiddo's just helping me carry my supplies, since I have trouble carrying my things because I only have one arm. My grandpa gave her to me before I came to Unova."

Hugh couldn't help but stare at the weird Pokémon wagging her tail happily as Gary petted her head. He was curious as to why Gary had only one arm. Had he lost his left arm because of some accident?

Later that night Hugh, Gary, and Skiddo were sleeping in their camp. It was very peaceful until Skiddo woke up to a plethora of strange noises and opened her eyes to find a very strange mist surrounding them. She shivered in fear and quickly dove under Gary's blankets for protection, waking him up.

"What the… Skiddo?"

At the sound of Gary's voice, Hugh finally woke up and asked what was happening, but before Gary could reply, the young Trainer's entire body suddenly levitated out from his sleeping bag, pulled by some invisible force. Gary and Skiddo could only stare at the floating Trainer in fearful awe until whatever force had been holding Hugh up released him, sending him plummeting back to the ground to land on his butt.

"What the heck is going on?"

_"It could be…"_ Gary thought before he took a Poké Ball from his belt. "Noctowl, come out!"

From the Poké Ball emerged a beautiful, unusually colored Noctowl. This shiny Noctowl used to be Ash's; after Ash's death, some of his old Pokémon had accepted Gary to be their new Trainer.

"Noctowl, use Foresight!"

"(Right!)"

Noctowl used Foresight, causing the mist to disappear and reveal its true source- a Gengar, a Haunter, and a Gastly, all with mischievous smiles on their faces. Gary groaned; the last thing he wanted was to deal with mischief-making ghost Pokémon.

The ghostly trio smirked as Haunter's hand glowed. Gary and Hugh blinked in confusion as Gary's pieces of the old Poké Ball lifted out of his pocket and floated into Haunter's hand. Haunter smiled as he and the other two ghosts turned to float away.

"Hey, give that back!" Gary shouted furiously, chasing after the ghosts with Noctowl and Skiddo not far behind.

Hugh stared after Gary as he chased the ghost trio, unaware that a fourth ghost Pokémon was present until he heard it cackle its own name and turned to see a Misdreavus with a golden locket around her neck. She stuck her tongue out at the bewildered young Trainer before flying off in the same direction that the other three ghosts had taken.

"You little…. Give back my locket!" Hugh yelled angrily.

The humans and Pokémon chased after the thieves until they arrived at a small shrine hidden within the forest. Gary returned Noctowl back to his Poké Ball as he, Hugh, and Skiddo entered the shrine to look for the thieves.

"Good evening, young Trainers," a creepy voice greeted.

The trio yelped as they turned around and saw an old lady wearing a miko outfit. She was holding an oil lamp in her hand, its pale, sickly yellow light making her look creepier as it cast her face in disturbing shadows.

"G-Good evening, madam," Gary said, being the first to recover.

"What are young Trainers like yourselves doing in my shrine at such an hour?" the old miko asked.

Hugh proceeded to explain about the ghost Pokémon that had stolen their items. The old miko nodded as he told the story, understanding their situation. She turned around and called for the ghosts. The ghosts appeared, and they seemed very terrified of the old lady.

"What did I tell you four about stealing spiritual items?" she asked with a polite smile, but the smiling only scared the ghost Pokémon even more. "Would you be so kind as to return them now, please?"

"(Yes, Ma'am!)" The ghost Pokémon shouted as they quickly returned their belongings before making a hasty retreat.

Hugh and Gary just stood there with blank looks on their faces for a few seconds before Skiddo broke the silence.

"( She's scary…)" the small goat-like Pokémon whimpered as she went to hide behind Gary.

"My apologies, boys," the old miko said. "Those Pokémon have a terrible habit of taking spiritual items from people and bringing them here."

Gary was confused as he looked at the broken Poké Ball in his hand. What did she mean by "spiritual items?" Gary yelped as he looked up to find the old miko standing directly in front of him, her face less than a hair's breadth away from his as she looked him right in eyes, as though she was trying to see into his soul.

"You suffered a terrible loss, didn't you?"

Gary's eyes widened in shock. How did she know that? Hugh was curious as to what the old miko meant by "loss," while Skiddo looked sad, as if she knew what the old miko meant.

"And so did you, young one," the miko continued, looking at Hugh. "Both of you have lost something very valuable to you, and now you're each on a journey to find it again."

Hugh's eyes widened in surprise at the old lady's words. Ever since he'd started his Pokémon journey, he'd wanted to face Team Plasma and bring Purrloin back to his sister, since he was a gift from his late grandfather.

Gary lowered his head, shadowing his eyes beneath his mahogany bangs. He clenched his hand into a fist as he remembered Ash's last moments.

"Ash… my best friend is dead…" he whispered darkly. "You can't bring the dead back to life."

"Yes, I know, dear," the old miko replied sympathetically. She grabbed his chin to make him look at her before she continued, "but human souls can be reborn countless times, either as humans again, as nature spirits, or even as Pokémon."

Gary's eyes went wide in shock when she mentioned this, and for some reason, an image of that red-eyed boy suddenly formed in his mind. He remembered his grandfather telling him once that some Pokémon had the ability to disguise themselves as humans. Could that boy be a Pokémon in disguise? For a moment, Gary became lost in thought as he went through a mental checklist of all the known Pokémon who might be able to do something like that, but he was brought back to reality as the old woman placed a bracelet around his wrist.

"Take this, dear. It will help you with your journey," she said, reading the confusion on his face. Then, she lifted a small bell and placed it in the palm of Hugh's hand. "And this item will help _you_ out, young one."

Hugh looked at the item in his hand. It was a Soothe Bell. How exactly would this help him find his sister's Pokémon?

"It's already late, my dears. Why don't you sleep here tonight? Its's a long journey to Nimbasa City. You might find what you are looking for there, but it won't do you much good to search in the dark."

Though Skiddo protested, Hugh and Gary decided to accept the miko's hospitality, so long as those crazy ghost Pokémon didn't try anything with them again.

XXX

The next morning, Skiddo was the first to wake up. She looked around and quickly noticed they were not in the shrine anymore; in fact, the shrine was nowhere to be found, as if it was never there in the first place.

"(Wake up!)" The little goat-like Pokémon cried out as she gave Gary a headbutt.

"Ouch! Skiddo! How many times do I have to tell you not to wake me up like that?" Gary groaned in pain, but the pain soon gave way to confusion when he noticed they were not in the shrine anymore.

Hugh woke up from Gary's yelp, and within moments, he, too, had realized that the shrine was nowhere to be seen. Both young boys shared a confused glance. Had all that they'd gone through the previous night been nothing more than a dream? Gary felt inclined to say yes until he noticed that the bracelet the miko had given to him the night before was still on his wrist. Then, he remember what the miko said to them:

"_But human souls can be reborn countless times, either as humans again, as nature spirits, or even as Pokémon."_

Then, Gary remembered that red-eyed boy again. He couldn't deny that something about him had felt very familiar to him. Could he be connected to Ash somehow? The old miko had said that human souls could be reborn as Pokémon, but... Was it possible...? Could that boy actually be...?

"Hugh, can you help me put my things in the bags on Skiddo?" Gary asked, a determined spark lighting up his eyes. "I want to arrive at Nimbasa City as soon as possible."

XXX

Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location, a scientist was in the front of a computer, talking to someone else on the screen.

"I take it everything is ready?" The mysterious figure asked.

"Yes," the scientist answered. "We will take the machine to Nimbasa City. I am sure the Contest Festival will get us some very interesting data, sir."

"Do not fail me, Colress."

With that, the mysterious figure disconnected the call. The scientist named Colress smirked.

"Oh, I do not plan to fail, Lord Ghetsis."

To be continued

A/N: That's the end of chapter 6. I hope you have liked this one. Sorry people, no Blue and Green in there, but I promise there will be a lot of action in the next chapters. Please, do not forget to review the chapter.

I want to thank to Flock o' Seagulls for beat- editing.


	7. Chapter 7

A New Journey  
Chapter 7- Attack on Nimbasa City

XXX

Blue and Green were using two large sticks to support themselves as they crossed the sandy Route 4. Crossing the desert wasn't any fun for either of them; Blue hadn't used illusions on them to conserve energy, as they had to face sand storms and some wild Pokémon, and a little Sandile had dared to bite his tail. When the entry of Nimbasa City came into view, they hugged each other and started to cry.

"We did it! We did it, Blue!

"I know! We're never asking a Gothita to teleport us ever again!"

How had they ended up in the desert? Well you see, to reach their destinations faster, Blue would often ask a local psychic Pokémon to teleport them, but the only psychic Pokémon they'd been able to find was a little Gothita. She hadn't meant any harm, but she couldn't control her powers yet, which had caused Green and Blue to end up in the middle of the desert. They'd been lucky that a Darmanitan had given them the right directions, or else they would probably have died in the desert.

Blue used his illusions to disguise them again, allowing them to enter the city without any problems. They went to a deserted area in the beautiful central park, away from human sight, where they bathed themselves in a lake to get rid of all the sand on their bodies. Green sighed in relief as the cold water touched his body.

"Ah…. That felt great." Then Green looked at Blue. The Aura Pokémon was staring at something on a tree. "Blue?"

The fighting Pokémon went towards Blue and saw what the Aura Pokémon was staring at; there was a poster on the tree depicting a Blaziken and a brunette girl dressed in white.

"Blue?"

Blue couldn't hear his friend's voice. In his mind, he could see the girl from the poster, only younger and holding in her arms a baby chick Pokémon he had never seen before. Blue held his head as he felt a strong migraine coming on.

"Don't tell me; this girl has something to do with your dreams, too, doesn't she?" Green asked. He clearly remembered that Blue had a similar reaction when they saw that human named Gary Oak.

Blue's silence was all the response Green needed to know that he was right.

"We should look for her," Green offered sympathetically.

Apparently, that was what it took to snap Blue back to reality. "What? No way, Green. You know we're only in this city because I want to find clues about my mother."

"Can't we just go there to see what that girl has to do with your dreams?"

"My mother comes first!"

"Your mental health is also important!"

The next second, Blue and Green started to fight each other. That was how they'd always resolved their disagreements, ever since they were little. Of course, because they used some of their more powerful attacks, Blue used up the energy he'd initially put into maintaining the illusion on them, causing it to vanish and attracting the attention of some nearby people.

"Hey, what's going on over there?"

"Wow, look; it's a Mienshao! But what's that blue Pokémon?"

"That's a Lucario! Holy crap, that's a really rare Pokémon!"

"I want to catch them!"

That's when Green and Blue used their Sand Attacks on the onlookers and started to run back to the city. The last thing either of them wanted was to be caught by humans.

XXX

A green-haired figure was looking around the city. It had been almost two years since he'd first come to this particular city. He looked at Nimbasa's famous Ferris wheel, which happened to have a very special place in his heart.

The figure was actually N, the former king of Team Plasma. After discovering his father's true intentions for him, he'd left Unova to travel around the world and meet new people and Pokémon alike, but recently, Reshiram had become restless. He told N to return to Unova because the heroine of ideals was in trouble. Since N had no idea where Hilda was, he thought Nimbasa City would be a good place to start looking for her wherebouts.

"Hilda, I hope you're doing okay."

XXX

At the Musical Theater, May was helping to prepare everything for the Contest that would be happening late in the afternoon. May was now fourteen-years-old, having longer hair that reached down to her waist and looking more mature. May still trained as a Coordinator, but shortly after Ash's death, she went into a depression and ended up going on an indefinite hiatus from her career as a Coordinator. Her family became very worried about her, but with the help of her rivals and friends from the Contests, she got better and eventually managed to realize her dream of becoming a true professional. She's now responsible for bringing the world of Pokémon Contests to Unova.

"Miss May, where should I put this?" a man who was carrying a box asked May.

"Just leave that in the dressing room," May replied, not looking up from the clipboard in her hand even when a young boy approached her from behind.

"Hey, sis," the boy called out.

"Yes, Max, what is it?"

After four years, Max had grown up a little bit; he'd finally reached the legal age to get his Pokémon License two years earlier. His looks hadn't changed much, but he'd become much more mature, especially when it came to putting the sibling rivalry he'd once shared with May to rest following Ash's passing. When May became determined to bring Contests to Unova, Max decided to come with her because he wanted to help her and see the fauna and Pokémon of Unova.

"You have a visitor."

"A visitor?" May blinked, surprised. She didn't know anyone in Unova. "Who?"

Then, her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Gary standing in the doorway. Gary only smiled softly at her as he walked towards her.

"G-Gary…..?"

"Hey, May," Gary greeted. "It's been a while. I haven't seen you since….."

"…..Since Ash's death….." May whispered. She shifted her head so that her eyes were hidden by her locks; she didn't want Gary to see the sadness in her eyes.

"Sis..." Max whispered, comforting his sister.

Gary scratched the back of his neck, unsure what he should do. Ash was always a sensitive subject for them, since he'd been their closest friend. Gary didn't know May that well, but he was well aware that she'd come to love Contests thanks in part to meeting Ash and travelling with him in Hoenn. Gary decided that it would probably be best to avoid talking to them about that red-eyed guy he'd met at the Pokémon Day Care and his unproven theory on whom he might be.

"Miss May?" Hugh said hesitantly, having decided to break the slight tension in the air as he came into view. "My name is Hugh, and I want to thank you for bringing Contests here to Unova. My little sister always loved seeing Contest shows from Hoenn and Sinnoh." He bowed to her respectfully.

May smiled. She was glad that she could bring happiness to the children of Unova and hopefully inspire some of them to pursue careers as future Coordinators. Maybe this unexpected reunion with Gary wouldn't be nearly as awkward as she'd initially thought.

"Would you like to stay and watch the Contest?" she asked them. "I can get you some VIP seats."

"Really?" Hugh asked. "Thank you! If you don't mind, I would like an autograph later; my sister is a big fan of yours."

Gary smiled. It was the first time since they'd met that he had seen Hugh look truly happy. Hugh had told him about how Team Plasma had stolen his sister's Purloin, which had been given to her as a gift by their late grandfather. Since then, he had been looking for clues about Team Plasma and the missing Pokémon.

"Hey, Max, I see you've finally become a Trainer," Gary said as he looked at Max and noticed the belt of Poké Balls at his waist.

"Yep! I got my license two years ago," Max said happily, "and my first Pokémon was-"

Max never got the chance to continue, as Skiddo headbutted him right in the stomach, surprising everyone, especially May.

"Max!" May exclaimed.

"Skiddo…" Gary muttered, hiding his face in embarrassment.

XXX

"How did I let you talk me into doing this, exactly?" Blue muttered darkly to his friend as they waited in line at the entrance to the building where the Pokémon Contest was taking place.

"Because you know I'm right about that girl being the key to understanding your dreams."

Blue sighed in annoyance. He didn't want to watch any Contests; he just wanted to look for clues about his mother. They entered the building and took their seats just as the houselights dimmed and several spotlights came on and shone on the stage. The show had just begun.

"Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen! How are we all doing tonight?!"

A large round of cheers and applause was more than enough to answer Vivian Meridian's question as she took to the centre of the stage for the entrance ceremony.

"Great! Now before we begin, we would like to thank May from Petalburg City in the Hoenn region for convincing our sponsors from the Pokémon League Association to allow the Pokémon Contest challenge to become a reality in Unova! May, come on out and address your adoring public!"

The crowd erupted into cheers when May walked out onto the stage. She bowed to the public and waved to them happily. She glanced up at the VIP box, meeting the eyes of Hugh, Gary, and Max as they applauded her enthusiastically. Blue never took his eyes off of May, struggling to understand why he felt like he knew that girl from somewhere, while on the other side of the crowd, N was watching the Contest carefully. While he didn't much care for the battling aspect of Contests, he was interested in seeing the beauty and skills of the Pokémon involved. From what the Pokémon had told him, they liked using Contests to show off all their moves.

"Thank you, Vivian," May said as the announcer handed her the microphone. "As many of you know, Pokémon Contests first got their start in my homeland, and since then, they've gone on to become popular all around the world. I was sad when I heard Contests hadn't reached Unova yet, but now here we are, getting ready to kick off Unova's very first Contest! I'm truly honored to be a part of this groundbreaking moment. I can hardly believe that only a few years ago, I had no interest in anything having to do with Pokémon until a dear friend of mine, who is no longer with us, introduced me to the joys of Pokémon and helped make me what I am today- a professional Coordinator. I would like to dedicate this Contest to his memory- to my dearest friend, Ash Ketchum!"

The majority of the audience applauded the Coordinator, but Blue on the other hand, was now in shock over the mention of the name "Ash Ketchum." Again, images were running throught his mind involving the girl in the ring, but she was younger and with a boy who was younger than him. Green glanced at his friend worriedly when he noticed how pale he was.

"Blue, are you alright?" Green asked. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea coming here, after all."

"No," Blue said suddenly as he looked at the girl again. "I think it was a good idea coming here. You were right; she may hold the key to figuring out why I keep having those dreams and what they mean."

Green said nothing; he just looked at Blue with concern. He looked at the stage as the announcer introduced the judges of the Contest, who were head judge Mr. Contesta; Nimbasa's Gym Leader, Elesa; and the director of the Pokémon Fan Club, Sukizo. Before the main show got under way, May announced to the audience that she would give a short demonstration on how Pokémon were to be used in Contests. She got two Poké Balls from her belt, and when she threw them in the air, from the light emerged a powerful Blaziken and an elegant Shiny Mienshao. _That_ got Green's attention.

"Mienshao, Rain Dance, then follow up with your Ice Punch!" May shouted to her Pokémon.

The Shiny Mienshao nodded and did what she said, first summoning rain with her Rain Dance and then using Ice Punch to freeze the rain drops.

"Now Blaziken, spin in the air and use your Blaze Kick!"

Blaziken cried out as he jumped in the air. He spun in the air while using Blaze Kick, and the fire from his attack made all the frozen raindrops glitter like stars. When they finished, they posed as the audience gave the Pokémon's performance a standing ovation.

"Blue, I think I'm in love!" Green shouted dreamily with hearts in his eyes.

Blue couldn't help but sweatdrop as he looked away in embarrassment. Green's reaction somehow reminded Blue of someone else, but he couldn't really remember who it could be.

"That was an amazing performance, Ladies and Gentlemen! I wouldn't expect anything less from the Princess of Hoenn!"

The audience once again applauded May's performance, including Gary. May had really improved herself since the last time he'd seen her in a Contest on t.v..

Suddenly, the lights went out, confusing everybody. May was confused, too, as her Pokémon gathered around her defensively. They felt danger. Blue growled as he felt danger, as well, along with a familiar presence.

Then, the lights came back on, revealing three members of Team Plasma up on stage, two males and one female.

"Sorry about this, but now it's our turn to give you a show," said a male Plasma Grunt.

"Who are you?" May demanded as Blaziken and Mienshao placed themselves between May and the members of Team Plasma, protecting her from the strangers.

"We are Team Plasma!" said the female member of the trio. "The future rulers of Unova!"

Then, the female member threw two small devices at May's Pokémon, which attached to their foreheads and caused the Pokémon to cry out in pain as a surge of red light coursed through their bodies.

"Blaziken! Mienshao! What's wrong?" May cried out, concerned for her Pokémon.

When they turned around, she saw her Pokémon glowing red in fury. They growled at her maliciously, as if they were about to attack May. Blaziken readied a Blaze Kick and Mienshao prepared a Force Palm, and May cried as she closed her eyes, expecting the impact of the attack. But nothing came.

"What?!" shouted one of the Plasma Grunts.

May opened her eyes and saw Gary and Hugh in front of her, with a Blastoise and a Serperior blocking her Pokémon's attempted attacks.

"I won't allow you guys to ruin this Contest!" Gary shouted angrily.

"I dunno what you guys are planning here, but I won't let you succeed!" Hugh added.

Hugh and Gary glared at Team Plasma. Meanwhile, Max and Elesa were helping Officer Jenny evacuate the theater safely.

The tension in the air was heavy. Gary rolled Blastoise's Poké Ball around in his hand anxiously as he waited for the last remaining stragglers from the audience to exit. He wasn't nervous about the battle, per se, although he was well aware that it could easily go either way since Blastoise had a type advantage over Blaziken, who, in turn, was strong against Serperior, while Mienshao stood an equal chance against both Blastoise and Serperior. What he _was_ nervous about was the fact that the Pokémon he and Hugh would be battling against didn't belong to their opponents, and should the two men win, it might mean having to seriously injure May's Pokémon. Gary hated the thought of hurting May's Pokémon, but he couldn't see any way around it.

Ultimately, he decided that his best course of action would be to try to finish this battle as quickly as possible, and so, as soon as the last of the civilians was out of harm's way, Gary pointed to May's Blaziken and shouted, "Blastoise, Hydro Cannon, now!"

"What?!" Hugh yelped in surprise. Wasn't Hyrdro Cannon the ultimate Water-type attack? Why would Gary decide to use it as his first move? Hugh understood that he probably wanted to end this battle as quickly as possible, but an attack that powerful against a Pokémon with a type disadvantage could easily kill it. What was Gary _thinking_?

"Gary, are you crazy?!" May shouted as she watched Blastoise charge up the attack; apparently, she was thinking the same thing Hugh was. "You'll kill my Blaziken if that attack hits! Call it off, n-"

May's outcry came too late, and she was cut off as a powerful blast of water shot out of Blastoise's cannons and struck her Blaziken dead on. The force of the blast knocked it back, and May screamed in horror as she watched her beloved starter slam against the wall. The attack went on for nearly a minute, Blastoise having sensed Gary's anxiousness to finish the battle quickly and minimize the damage they'd have to deal to May's Pokémon and pouring all of his strength into the attack, until finally, Blastoise ran out of energy and the Hydro Cannon slowly diminished in strength and eventually ceased.

In the aftermath of the attack, Blaziken lay slumped against the wall, seemingly fainted. Hugh and May were both clearly appauled by Gary's lack of restraint; although, while Hugh would never admit it out loud, he was secretly relieved that Blaziken was no longer a threat and couldn't pose any danger to his Serperior. Gary, meanwhile, only offered Blaziken a pitying glance and a silent apology before he set his sights on May's Mienshao and muttered calmly, "One down, one to go."

"You think so, huh?" The female Plasma Grunt asked smugly. She snapped her fingers, and to her enemies' surprise, Blaziken's eyes shot open and he quickly rose back onto his feet as if Blastoise's attack hadn't affected him at all. "No matter what attacks you throw at them, you'll never win. The devices we placed on these Pokémon have the ability to increase their power and strength, as well as their aggression. Type advantages, type disadvantages, none of that matters as long as these Pokémon are under our control. Would you care for a demonstration? Blaziken!" The grunt snapped her fingers, grabbing the Fire-type's attention, before she directed its gaze toward Gary's Blastoise. "Overheat!"

Gary's eyes widened in alarm as a large fire blast exploded out of Blaziken's mouth, and in a desperate bid to dampen the blow, he ordered Blastoise to use Withdraw. The Water-type hadn't even begun to withdraw into its shell before the attack reached it and engulfed him in flames. To the group's horror, the attack delivered an instant, one-hit knock out, rendering Blastoise unconscious.

"Blastoise, return!" Gary yelled, returning Blastoise to his Poké Ball before the flames of Blaziken's Overheat could leave any lasting damage on his starter.

Hugh couldn't believe what he'd just seen. How had Blaziken, a Fire-type, taken out Blastoise, a Water-type with only one hit? He watched Gary return Blastoise's Poké Ball to his belt without taking his eyes off of May's Pokémon, and in that moment Hugh realized that now his Serperior was all that was left to take on Mienshao and Blaziken. He eyed May's Blaziken apprehensively. If Gary's Blastoise had been taken out in one hit even with a type advantage, what chance did his Serperior stand with its weakness to fire attacks?

"Mienshao, Hi Jump Kick!" one of the male Plasma Grunts shouted, startling Hugh. It seemed he didn't have to worry about Serperior's chances of winning against Blaziken; May's Mienshao leaped gracefully into the air where her knee suddenly started glowing with a strange, purple energy, before she came down on Hugh's Serperior with a powerful knee kick.

Not only did the powerful attack knock Serperior out in a single blow, it also landed with enough force to knock Serperior back into Hugh and send them both flying into the distant wall with an impact so strong that it caused the lighting equipment above to fall and crash down on top of them.

"Hugh!" Gary shouted in alarm as he watched the younger Trainer grimace in pain, moaning pitifully. He was struck by a brief flashback of Ash lying trapped under that boulder and, jarred by the horrifying memory, rushed to help save Hugh from a similar fate, while May, in turn, hurried toward Blaziken and Mienshao to try to snap them out of Team Plasma's control.

"Blaziken, Mienshao, stop!" she begged as tears rolled down her cheeks. "You have to wake up! I know you're stronger than this! Fight it!"

But both Pokémon remained under Team Plasma's control, and Blaziken only cried out angrily as he slapped May. May yelped in pain as she fell to the ground, unconscious.

"May!" Gary cried out, leaving the newly freed Hugh to rush to May's aid.

When Gary turned her over to see if she was okay, he gasped in horror when he saw that Blaziken's attack had burned the right side of her face. Blaziken was about to attack him, as well, when Skiddo came out from her Poké Ball and tackled the burning Pokémon away from her Trainer.

"(I will not allow you to touch Gary!)" Skiddo cried.

The female Plasma Grunt looked confused, as she had never seen that kind of Pokémon before. Gary shouted at Skiddo, ordering her to run away since Blaziken would be too strong for her, but Skiddo shook her head, unwilling to leave her Trainer to fend for himself against a rampaging Pokémon.

"Aww, how sweet- the bond between a Trainer and his Pokémon. It'd be _such_ a shame to see it broken," the female grunt said, her voice laced with sarcasm and cruelty. "I see that thing is a Grass-type. Blaziken, use your Flamethrower on that thing."

Blaziken cried out as he fired his Flamethrower at Skiddo. Gary cried out as Skiddo closed her eyes, expecting to be burned alive, but the attack never hit her. She was shocked when she saw two human boys standing in front of her protectively, the dark-haired one using a barrier to protect them from Blaziken's attack.

The others were totally shocked when they saw the dark-haired boy using Protect. How was that possible? Only Pokémon could use that move. Gary was also surprised when he recognized the boy; he was the same one he'd met briefly at the Day Care.

"I will not let you hurt anyone else," Blue said coldly to the Plasma Grunts.

"B-But how...? That was impossible!" shouted the female grunt. "No human could do that!"

"Who said we're humans, you arrogant fool?" Green said darkly.

Blue's Aura covered them as the illusion came off, revealing their true forms. The humans around them were speechless, especially Gary. He knew he'd entertained the idea that Blue might actually be a Pokémon after the strange meeting with that old miko, but contemplating something and seeing it actually happen were two entirely different things. How could that Pokémon create illusions if Zorua and Zoroark were supposedly the only ones capable of such a feat? And why did Blue's human form look so much like Ash?

"I will stop this madness!" Blue cried out at Team Plasma.

To be continued

The tension's really coming out in there. How will Blue and Green deal with the rampaging and controlled Pokémon? Wait and find out!

I want to thanks Flock o' Seagulls for beta editing this. ^^


	8. Chapter 8

A New Journey  
Chapter 8- Mega Evolution

Gary stared in shock when he saw that boy, Blue, become a Lucario right before his eyes. So, he was right; Blue was really a Pokémon, after all. Only one question remained to nag at Gary's mind- he didn't recall Lucario being capable of illusionary abilities, so how was Blue able to disguise himself as a human? Perhaps the better question was, why did his disguised form look so much like Ash? The resemblance was too uncanny to be a coincidence, but... could Blue actually be Ash's reincarnation?

Come to think of it, one of the last conversations Gary ever had with Ash happened to be on this very subject...

*Flashback*

_Ash and Gary were looking at the starry night sky in the camp that they'd set up near the Sinjoh Ruins. It was right after dinner, and everyone except for the two boys had already gone to sleep._

_"It's been a while since we last camped out together, huh, Ash?" Gary asked, continuing to gaze at the starry sky._

_"Yeah," Ash agreed. "I think the last time we camped together was at Professor Oak's Ranch, when we were little."_

_Gary was unsure how to respond, struck silent by guilt. Truth be told, they'd had a lot of fun together when they were kids, but as they grew older, Gary pushed Ash away, thinking only of himself and his goal of becoming a Pokémon Master. It wasn't until the Johto League Silver Conference that they somehow managed to fix their friendship, and Gary couldn't be happier to be back on friendly terms with his childhood friend._

_"Hey, Gary, if you could be reborn as a Pokémon, what kind of Pokémon would you want be?" Ash asked Gary, breaking the awkward silence._

_Gary blinked in confusion. "That was kind of out of the blue there, Ashy-boy. Why are you asking?"_

_Ash grinned as he replied, "Just for fun."_

_Gary closed his eyes, thinking it over until, finally, he looked at Ash and answered, "I'd like to be reborn as a Pidgey. Because Pidgey can evolve into Pidgeot- one of the fastest Flying-type Pokémon."_

_"Pidgey, huh? Cool."_

_"What about you, Ash?" Gary asked. "Wait, let me guess; you want to reborn as a Pikachu."_

_"Nope!" Ash smiled. "I want to be a Riolu."_

_"Riolu?" Gary asked, confused. "Why a Riolu?"_

_"Because Riolu can evolve into Lucario. I met an awesome Lucario while I was in Kanto, along with May, Max, and Brock. He was an amazing Pokémon, especially how loyal he was to his people and the way he could use Aura."_

_"Lucario sounds like an awesome Pokémon," Gary commented._

_"Oh, yeah. He was."_

*End of Flashback*

Gary blinked in surprise as the memory ended and he was brought back to the present. Now that he remembered that moment, he found it even more shocking that Blue the Lucario's human form looked so much like Ash, who'd wanted to be reincarnated as a Riolu so that he could eventually evolve into a Lucario. The evidence just kept piling up to prove Gary's theory correct, and in stunned silence, Gary turned his gaze to the Lucario in question.

Blue only glared at the members of Team Plasma in front of him. He could feel that Blaziken and Shiny Mienshao's Auras were completely messed up because of the devices on their foreheads. The devices were not only forcing them to power up, but they were also messing with their Auras terribly. If they didn't remove the devices on their foreheads soon, they would cause serious damage to the two Pokémon, permanently.

"Green, you take care of that female Mienshao, while I take care of Blaziken," Blue muttered to his friend.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Blue," Green commented, "Blaziken is a Fire-type. He has a huge advantage over you. I should take care of him."

"Don't worry, Green," Blue replied with a smirk on his lips. "I was trained by Master Cobalion. He trained me how to deal with Fire-types, since he's also part Steel-type, like myself.

The female Plasma Grunt ordered Blaziken to attack, who cried out as he attacked with Blaze Kick. Blue blocked it with a Blaze Kick of his own, causing a heated shock wave from the impact of the two attacks. Gary hugged Skiddo to protect her from the shock wave as the two Fighting-type Pokémon rushed outside to continue their fight.

Meanwhile, Green was fighting against May's Shiny Mienshao. Both of them seemed to disappear at the same time, surprising Gary with how fast both Mienshao were. With no time to waste, the female grunt ordered one of the male grunts to take care of Green and Gary while she and her partner went to catch the talking Lucario. The young grunt nodded as they left.

"Wait! You're not getting away!" shouted Gary, ready to release another of his Pokémon, but the male grunt blocked his way.

"Heh, I don't think so, jerk." The Plama Grunt smirked behind his mask as he threw one of his own Poké Balls and a Liepard came out, growling at Gary menacingly.

Gary scoffed. He didn't have time to fight with this fool; he needed to get his friends to the hospital and help that Lucario. The grunt ordered the Liepard to attack Gary, but it didn't even move from its spot, confusing both of the humans; why did he not attack?

That was when Gary realized that Liepard wasn't looking at him, but rather, his eyes were focused solely on Hugh, who was still lying unconscious where Gary had left him, with a Soothe Bell, and was badly wounded. Gary slowly moved to stand in front of Hugh protectively as the Liepard continued to stare at him, unaware of the flood of memories flashing through its mind of a gentle old man with two children. He didn't like the male child at all, but he'd felt something special for the girl. She'd even given him a collar with a Soothe Bell that made him look very cute. Then one day, some humans forced their way into his home and took him away from his family, leaving them behind, along with the Soothe Bell. That boy who was lying on the ground, bleeding, was his family. Liepard hissed ferociously before unexpectedly turning around and lunging at the male Plasma Grunt, attacking him viciously.

Gary gasped in horror as he watched Liepard attack its Trainer without mercy, biting his neck. It was at that moment that Max and the Gym Leader of the city, Elesa, came to help.

"Gary!" Max called.

Max and Elesa paused, stricken by horror when they saw the Liepard on the dead Plasma Grunt with blood dripping from his fangs. Their fear was only intensified when Liepard suddenly ceased his attack to get up and walk towards the unconscious Hugh. Max prepared to summon his Pokémon, but Gary stopped him.

"Wait, Max, I think I know what's going on."

His suspicions were right; the Liepard stopped in front of Hugh, cooing gently in worry, before softly licking Hugh's face. Hugh moaned in pain as he slowly regained consciousness, but then he looked at Liepard's face and his grimace was replaced by a soft smile as he started to pet him.

"Hey, it's been a while. You've changed a lot since the last time I saw you, but I still recognize your eyes. How you doing, Emerald?"

Emerald the Liepard meowed as he softly nuzzled Hugh's face, both of them crying that they'd finally found each other. Max was still clueless as to what was going on, exactly, but before he could ask, something jumped out in front of them, startling the group, and moved away just as fast. Gary explained that a Mienshao was fighting against May's Mienshao and, realizing the danger the unconscious May and injured Hugh would be in if they remained there, Gary asked Elesa to take May and Hugh to the hospital. Elesa nodded and took Hugh and May away on her Zebrstrika. Gary then told Max to stop the Mienshao as he rushed out of the theater to help Blue with Skiddo following him.

"Right. Stop them. Don't make it sound so easy there, Gary," Max muttered to himself sarcastically. "How am I supposed to do that, exactly? They're so monstrously fast that I can't even see them!"

Then, Max remembered May telling him once that her Mienshao has a very strong sense of smell and that she doesn't react well when she is around foul smells, which when strong enough, could even knock her out.

"Okay, I think I've got it now! Stunky, come on out!"

Max called out his Stunky, then took out a gas mask, seemingly out of nowhere, and placed it on his face. He then ordered his Stunky to use its Stench ability, releasing a foul liquid from its rear that left the stadium smelling like a hundred dead Rattata had been decomposing inside of it for days.

_Bam!_

Suddenly, the two Mienshao fell to the ground, having fainted from the horrible smell that was surrounding them.

"Well, at least it worked. I just hope City Hall doesn't sue me for this," commented Max as he removed the device from May's Mienshao's forehead.

XXX

Colress was at the top of a building with his machine that controlled the Pokémon, able to spectate on the battles below without being noticed. He was fascinated by how well Blue was able to hold his own against Blaziken in Central Park. No matter how many fire attacks he was hit by, the Lucario always managed to fight back, like the fire attacks had no effect on him at all.

"Fascinating! If we could capture that Lucario, I'm sure it would make for a perfect specimen to perform experiments on," commented Colress to himself, smirking.

Meanwhile, Blue was still fighting against May's Blaziken. The Aura Pokémon was thankful that Cobalion had trained him to be tolerant to fire attacks when he was still a Riolu...

*flashback*

_Blue and Cobalion were walking through the mysterious cave in the Reversal Mountain. The little Riolu could not understand why they were going there without Keldeo, who was training under Cobalion to become one of the Swords of Justice._

_"We're here," Cobalion said as they stood at the entrance of another tunnel. _

_Blue glanced inside of the tunnel but immediately backed away when he began to feel some kind of heat radiating from it. Then, the little Riolu saw a pair of glowing eyes through the entrance before the whole body was illuminated by what little light the cave had. Blue could feel that the Aura of this Pokémon was just as strong as Cobalion's._

_"Cobalion, it's good to see you, my friend," said the mysterious Pokémon. Then, he looked at Blue and remarked, "I see you've got another apprentice besides that brat, Keldeo."_

_"Blue, this is Heatran, an old friend of mine and your new sparring partner."_

_Blue's jaw dropped as his eyes widened in shock. He looked first at Heatran, then to his master. He was hoping to find some hint that this was some sort of messed up attempt by Cobalion at making a joke, but he looked dead serious as he stared back at the young Riolu._

_"Are you out of your mind, master?! He's gonna kill me!" Blue shouted at Cobalion before turning to Heatran. "No offense, Heatran. I think you're cool, but there's no way I could hold my own in a fight with you."_

_"No offense taken," Heatran replied with a smile before turning to the legendary fighter. "I agree with the little one, Cobalion. Don't you think having him spar with me would be a bit... excessive?"_

_"I know both of you are concerned about this, but it's necessary for Blue to become more tolerant to fire attacks," Cobalion said to them._

_Then, the legendary Pokémon told them that Blue's final form would be Lucario, a dual-type Fighting/Steel Pokémon just like himself. They might be strong fighters, but they were at a major disadvantage when it came to dealing with fire attacks. Cobalion even mentioned that he was once defeated by a Fire-type, and he felt very humiliated by the experience._

_"One day, Blue, you will face an opponent who'll be a Fire-type. Even as a Lucario, you'll still be at a huge __disadvantage. That's why you need to train to be more tolerant to fire attacks. Not only to protect yourself, but also to protect someone who's important to you in the future."_

*End of Flashback*

Blue was thankful that Cobalion, through his Spartan style of training, had conditioned him to be more tolerant to fire attacks. Blue could feel that Blaziken's attacks were getting weaker from overusing Heat Wave. Now, all he needed to do was use his Extreme Speed to take the device off of Blaziken's forehead, and the fight would be over. However, before he could do what he planned, he heard a cry and looked to his right to find an Eevee cowering in fear beneath a tree that had been struck during the battle and was about to fall on it. Blue cursed as he used the Extreme Speed he'd intended to use to end the battle to get to the Eevee in time. The Eevee was surprised to see a Lucario had saved her.

"You need to run!" Blue shouted to the Eevee. At first, she stared at him in confusion, but then her eyes widened in terror when she saw the rampaging Blaziken rushing towards them. Since he wouldn't have time to avoid the attack while also carrying Eevee, Blue used his body to shield her from the attack. He gasped as Blaziken stabbed him in the chest with his claws, causing blood to drip from his mouth as he lost consciousness. The Eevee cried out in horror as Blaziken tossed Blue's unconscious body into the lake to drown, but not long after, a shadow rushed past Blaziken and jumped into the lake to rescue Blue. The shadow was none other than Gary Oak.

In the water, Blue was roused into a state of semi-consciousness as his body slowly sank deeper into the lake. He felt the air rush from his lungs as the water around him became darker, but when he tried to move his limbs so that he could swim back to the surface, he found that he was too weak to even lift a paw. This was it; Blue was going to die, just because he had let his guard down for one moment. His thoughts were on his master, the Swords of Justice, his friends from White Forest, and his mother and how he'd never see any of them again. He'd failed to save Zoroark, and now, he'd never get to see her again.

_"Mom…"_ thought Blue as he closed his eyes.

When Blue opened them again, he found that he was no longer sinking to the bottom of the lake, but rather, he was floating in a strange white void. He was confused as to why he was there, in such a strange place.

"Blue," a familiar voice called to him.

Blue turned toward the source of the voice and gasped in pure shock when he saw Zoroark, his mother, standing before him. He was about to rush towards her when the dark Pokémon stopped him.

"Blue, you have to go back," Zoroark said to her child. "It's not your time yet."

"Mom, what are you talking about?" Blue questioned softly.

"My child, no matter what hardships you may have to endure, you will never be alone. You have friends from this life and your past life to help you."

Blue didn't understand why his mother was saying such things, but he only had time to call out to her before a bright flash of light blinded him. When he opened his eyes, he saw Gary with his single arm around him, trying to pulling them back to the surface. The task proved to be impossible with only one arm, but that didn't stop Gary from trying to save him. He wouldn't let Blue die- not when he felt so certain now that he was Ash's reincarnation.

While Gary would gladly give his life to save Blue's, Blue stared on with utter horror as he saw Gary struggle to pull them both up, the exertion causing him to use up his limited air supply faster and giving his face a slight bluish tint as a steady stream of air bubbles escaped from his mouth.

Eventually, Gary's struggling grew weaker, and unable to just sit by and idly watch this unusual human die trying to save him, Blue finally sent Gary a telepathic message through his Aura, 'What are you doing?! Can't you see that you'll drown if you keep this up? Stop! Save yourself!'

Gary wasn't surprised by the unexpected message, since he knew Lucario could comunicate with other beings through Aura. Instead, he just gritted his teeth and shot back, 'I already lost a friend once because I didn't do anything to save him. I won't let it happen again!"

Blue stared at Gary in surprise as he felt the last of his oxygen supply leave his lungs. Why, _why_ did that human care so much about him? He barely knew him, but for some reason Gary was still adamantly trying to save him, even if it meant having to die trying. Then, several images flashed through both their minds- images that Gary recognized as memories of him and Ash, while Blue only recognized them as parts of his dreams- as they felt their hearts start beating in sync. Then, the stone in Gary's bracelet started to shine just as the stone Green had given to Blue when he was still a Riolu began shining before a bright light completely surrounded them both.

XXX

Eevee was quivering in fear as the remaining members of Team Plasma surrounded her with an odd device in their hands. Though they lamented the loss of Lucario, they'd managed to luck out and find a rare Pokémon like Eevee for their troubles. Before they could attach the device to her forehead, however, a large explosion erupted from the lake, startling the Grunts as the water fell on them.

Eevee was surprised when she saw the Lucario who'd saved her with a human in his arms. Gary was completely shocked as he stared up at the Lucario before him. Blue was different somehow, like he had just evolved into a new Pokémon, even though Lucario was supposed to be the final evolutionary form of Riolu. The evolution even healed the wounds caused by Blaziken.

Blue looked at Team Plasma with anger and intense, raw power in his eyes.

"This battle isn't over yet."

To be continued.

Tah dah! I hope you like the chapter. I admit, it was hard to write it, especially after being on a mini vacation. Please, do not forget to leave your review. It's them that make me write faster. ^^

I want to thanks Flock o' Seagulls for beta editing this. ^^


	9. Chapter 9

A new Journey  
Chapter 9- Bonds

Colress and the Plasma Grunts were shocked by this unexpected turn of the events; the Lucario before them had somehow evolved into a new form. Of course, they weren't the only ones surprised by what they had just witnessed- Gary was shocked by this, as well. He also noticed that the stone in his bracelet was shining. Did it have something to do with this?

Blue looked at Gary and set him on his feet.

"Protect Eevee," Blue ordered simply before using his newfound speed to attack Blaziken.

Blaziken was taken by surprise by how suddenly Blue appeared before him. He couldn't even think about attacking the powered up Lucario before Blue delivered a powerful Aura Sphere attack to the Blaze Pokémon. Blaziken cried out in pain as he was violently thrown against a rock, but the impact of the powered up Aura Sphere was enough to destroy the device on his forehead, freeing him from Team Plasma's control.

Everyone was completely shocked by how powerful the Aura Sphere was, most especially Colress. Whatever had happened to make Lucario evolve like that, he needed to figure out a way to duplicate the results so that he could use them for Team Plasma's benefit. If he could figure out a way to capture that Lucario and experiment on him-

"So, you were here, after all, Colress," a familiar voice called out, cutting off Colress's train of thought.

Colress turned to find N, the former king of Team Plasma, along with a Zoroark, who was growling at him.

"N!? "

XXX

The grunts couldn't believe how quickly Lucario had defeated Blaziken. As the powerful Fire-type lay defeated at Blue's feet, the male grunt summoned a Sigilyph. Before the dual-type Flying/Psychic Pokémon could do anything, however, Blue quickily used a Thunder Punch on him, throwing the Pokémon back toward the male grunt, totally knocked out.

The female grunt growled furiously, calling her partner an incompetent fool as she took a Poké Ball from her belt and summoned a very angry Druddigon, who come out roaring. Before Blue could face him, the Eevee jumped in front of him, snarling at the Dragon-type Pokémon.

"(Let me take care of him!)"

Suddenly, the young Eevee began glowing and evolved into a new Pokémon with pale, cream-colored fur and pink feet, ears, and tail. There were two bows and scarves adorning it, one around its neck and one on its left ear. The bows were pale cream with pink centers, while the scarves were pale cream with pink and blue tips. It had four short legs with three visible toes on each foot, and its eyes were blue with white pupils and no visible sclera. Nobody recognized what kind Pokémon Eevee had just become.

"Ha! Do you really think that little pink Pokémon can stop my powerful Druddigon?" shouted the female grunt. "Druddigon, use your Dragon Rage!"

"(Right!)"

As, Druddigon used his Dragon Rage, the newly evolved form of Eevee glowed and absorbed some of the surrounding moonlight into her tentacle-like bows.

"(Moonblast!)"

_Boom!_

Everyone moved to shield their faces from the explosion, and when they dared to look at the dueling Pokémon again, they were completely surprised to find Druddigon totally knocked out. The female grunt was speechless. She couldn't believe that some little pink _thing_ had defeated her Druddigon that easily; Dragon-types were supposed to be the strongest of all Pokémon, so how could such a small Pokémon- and an Eeveelution, at that- defeat it in just one hit? She was about to cut her losses and run away, but Gary stopped her, punching her right in the side of the face and knocking her out cold.

"I've always hated men who beat up women, but for you, I'm willing to make an exception; that was for what you did to May, Hugh, and their Pokémon," Gary said, still clenching his hand into a fist.

Like his subordinate, Colress couldn't believe that Druddigon had been defeated so easily by an evolved form of Eevee.

"That Pokémon is Sylveon, a Fairy-type Pokémon. I'm not surprised that you didn't know about the Fairy-type since they aren't really known outside of Kalos, but as you just saw, they are very powerful against Dragon-types," N scoffed at the Team Plasma scientist, regaining his attention before he continued, "Now, Colress, what is my father up to this time? I know he didn't attack this city without reason."

The scientist smirked as he looked at the former king of Team Plasma.

"Well, N, I won't say much because I don't want to spoil the surprise, but it involves your dear Hilda and the legendary Dragon, Kyurem," Colress confessed with a dark chuckle.

N's eyes widenend in surprise at the mention of Hilda. Using N's momentary distraction to his advantage, Colress took a device from his pocket, and as N's Zoroark tried to stop him, the device teleported him away. N growled as he stared at the spot Colress had disappeared from. What was Team Plasma planning to do with Hilda and Kyurem? If his father hurt them-

_"No. Calm down. Focus on the task at hand, then worry about Team Plasma's plans later,"_ N thought as he turned toward the machine that Colress had used to control May's Blaziken and Mienshao. He didn't doubt that Colress had more of them stored away in his lab, but at least if he destroyed this one, it might inconvenience Team Plasma for a little while and prevent them from controlling other Pokémon in the area.

"Black, let's destroy this machine," N said to his Zoroark. "After that, I want to talk to that young man over there, with Lucario."

"(Alright. I also want to talk to that Lucario. That Mienshao called him Blue; unless I'm mistaken, that means he might be my brother,)" the Zoroark said to N, smiling.

XXX

It wasn't long until the police finally arrived and took the Plasma Grunts to the police station. Blue had returned to his old form after the battle was over, but he immediately collapsed; the evolution had consumed all of his energy. Gary took him and May's Blaziken to the city's Pokémon Center. While the Pokémon were recovering in the healing chambers, Gary took the opportunity to call Max on one of the center's video phones and ask about May and Hugh's conditions.

"May's injuries aren't too serious. She'll only need a few minor surgeries to fix the scars left by the burns, but she lost her sight in her right eye," Max reported, looking surprisingly calm as he reported the news.

Gary sighed. May didn't deserve that. Then, the young researcher asked about Hugh, and Max told him he was fine- just a few fractured bones- but it would still be a while until he would be released from the hospital. Max also explained that he'd had to sedate Hugh's Liepard with his Bulbasaur's Sleep Powder because the dark Pokémon didn't want to leave his side and had gotten aggressive whenever anyone tried to separate him from Hugh.

"I'm sending the Liepard to you, since you actually know how to handle aggressive Pokémon."

Max used the Poké Ball transport system to send the Liepard to Gary. Gary saw the bright light of the teleporter as Liepard's Poké Ball appeared. The young researcher took the Poké Ball and held it up to show Max that he had received it, then asked Max to tell Hugh that he would take good care of his Pokémon until he recovered before turning off the video phone.

He placed the Poké Ball containing Hugh's Liepard on his belt before looking down at Sylveon, who'd taken a liking to Gary and had been following him around ever since the battle. Maybe she smelled Gary's own Eeveelution, Umbreon, on him and had decided to like him based on that? Gary wasn't sure.

"Well, all that's left to do now is find your Trainer, little one," Gary said as he petted Sylveon's head.

"Pearl?" a voice called from behind the two.

Sylveon and Gary turned around to find a man who appeared to be in his thirties with messy, dark hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a white lab coat similar to the ones Gary's grandfather would often wear and Gary himself had worn on numerous occasions whenever either of them worked in their respective labs. Whoever he was, Sylveon seemed to recognize him, running to this man and jumping into his arms.

"Ah, Pearl, I was so worried after you ran off like that," the man said as he hugged the Pokémon. He then pulled her away to look into her eyes as he added, "I would never forgive myself if something happened to you."

"(I am so sorry!)" Sylveon cried, looking very ashamed. The older man held her close again and tried to comfort her.

"Excuse me, but is this Pokémon yours?" Gary asked.

"She used to be my sister's," the man replied. He offered one hand to Gary, smiling warmly as he said, "Thank you for looking after her for me. My name is Professor Augustine Sycamore."

XXX

Blue awoke to find himself inside of a strange chamber that he didn't recognize, and almost immediately, he was greeted by a human woman with pink hair. Unless he was mistaken, she was Nurse Joy- or at least, one of the many identical Nurse Joys who took care of Pokémon by offering to heal them in Pokémon Centers.

"Ah, you're awake," Nurse Joy smiled as she opened the healing chamber. "I'm glad to see that you're alright. It appears you've made a full recovery. You're welcome to go to the center's garden; your friend, the Mienshao, is waiting for you there."

Blue nodded. So, Green was also there. To Blue's surprise, he managed to step out of the healing chamber without any difficulty, and Nurse Joy directed a very gentle Audino to accompany him to the Pokémon Center's gardens. When he arrived there, he saw Green talking with that female Shiny Mienshao. Then, Green saw Blue out of the corner of his eyes and turned to him with a large smile.

"Blue!" Green shouted excitedly, running toward the Lucario. He was about to hug his friend, but was abruptly stopped as his face met one of Blue's feet.

"Ugh, Green… what the heck is that smell?" Blue muttered as he covered his nose with his paw.

Green groaned at the unwelcome reminder of the Stunky fumes still clinging to his body. Dammit, no matter what he tried, he still couldn't get rid of that horrible smell. The Shiny Mienshao muttered darkly that she would make May's brother pay for what he did to her.

"(It's no wonder why none of the other Pokémon in this garden want to get near us,)" the Shiny Mienshao said. "(I guess we need another bath.)"

With that, she took Green with her to take their third bath in an attempt to get rid of the foul smell. Blue sweatdropped as he watched the female Mienshao drag Green away. He shook his head and turned away from the two Mienshao, and that was when he saw the Blaziken he'd fought before resting at the other end of the garden. He could feel that he was very depressed, so he decided to go talk with the Fire-type Pokémon.

"Wanna talk?"

Blaziken turned around and saw Blue.

"(Oh, it's you,)" he said. "(Thanks for stopping me.)"

"No problem. That device on your forehead was messing up your Aura pretty badly. It's a good thing I managed to destroy it, or else the damage to your body would have been far worse."

Blaziken nodded silently. He still couldn't believe he had hurt his Trainer like that. He couldn't forgive himself for doing this. Blue sensed as much and reassured him that, even under the device's control, he was strong enough to resist killing his Trainer because of the deep bond they shared.

Before Blue could say anything else, he was interrupted when, from out of the blue, a young Zoroark tackled him with a hug from behind.

"(Big brother! Finally, we meet!)"

"Br-Brother?!"

XXX

At the Pokémon Center cafeteria, Gary was chatting with Professor Sycamore. From what he could find out, Prof. Sycamore was the Kalos region's resident Pokémon Professor but had been living in Unova for the past two years because his sister had been diagnosed with cancer and Nimbasa City had one of the world's best cancer treatment facilities. To help make the treatment easier for his sister, Sycamore had given her an Eevee, which she named Pearl, to keep her company. Unfortunately, his sister didn't make it and had passed away a couple of days ago. That devastated the Eevee, and she ran away, which led to Blue saving her in the park and her evolution into Sylveon. Gary explained what had happened in the park and at the Pokémon Contest to the older professor. Needless to say, Prof. Sycamore was surprised when Gary mentioned that Blue had somehow evolved and then changed back.

"Are you telling me that you made that Lucario Mega Evolve?" asked Prof. Sycamore, shocked.

"'Mega Evolve?'" Gary repeated, confused.

"Mega Evolution is a very special kind of evolution which allows certain Pokémon to temporarily evolve into their final form. But for that to happen, you need two special stones, one for the Trainer and one for the Pokémon, and there needs to be a deep bond between the two," Prof. Sycamore explained.

Gary showed his bracelet to Prof. Sycamore, who confirmed that it was a Mega Ring, the device worn by a Trainer that acts as a medium to allow a Mega Evolution to occur, but that still didn't explain how Blue was able to Mega Evolve since there needed to be a bond between Trainer and Pokémon for it to work.

"What if the bonds are already there? If the bonds are leftover from a past life?" Gary asked, staring into his cup of tea pensively.

"Past life?" Prof. Sycamore asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"

Gary explained the events of the past four years, starting with when Ash died at the Sinjoh Ruins and how he was forced to watch his best friend die with the knowledge that there was nothing he could do to save him, and ending with how he'd come to Unova in Ash's honor and met the Lucario who could use illusions to disguise himself as a human who looked almost exactly like a slightly older Ash, the only difference being Blue's red eyes.

"At first, I thought he was Ash's ghost, come back from the dead to haunt me for letting him die, but the more time I spent with him, the more I felt a familiar presence. The miko said human souls can be reborn countless times as humans, nature spirits, and even as Pokémon. She even gave me this bracelet, saying it would help me find what I had lost. When the stone reacted to that Lucario, I could see images that no one could know except for Ash and myself. That's how I knew: that Lucario is Ash's reincarnation," said Gary softly, still looking at his tea cup to avoid making eye contact with the professor.

Prof. Sycamore didn't know what to say to the young man before him. As a scientist, he didn't believe in spiritual things like reincarnation, but this young man believed from the bottom of his heart that his friend had returned to him as a Pokémon. Pearl the Sylveon rubbed her head against his leg, trying to comfort him. The professor reached down to pet her absentmindedly, and as she gazed up at him lovingly, he noticed for the first time that Sylveon's smile reminded him of his sister's. He took it back; he didn't _used to_ believe in spiritual things, but after hearing Gary's heartfelt tale, he was starting to believe that his sister might have been reincarnated as a Pokémon, as well.

"Am I interrupting anything?"

The duo turned around to find N coming towards their table. N introduced himself to them and explained about his involvement with Team Plasma and the events that transpired two years ago- when he summoned Reshiram, the Great Dragon of Truth, while Hilda summoned Zekrom, the Great Dragon of Ideals- and how he found out that his father had been using him for his own personal gain, not caring for the Pokémon's well-being.

Gary and Sycamore were struck speechless by everything N was saying. After a brief moment of silence, however, Gary managed to ask N why he was telling them all of this. N explained that after Hilda had saved him from his father and from himself, he wanted to believe more in people, and that was the reason why he had decided to travel around the world with Reshiram. He owed everything to Hilda for helping him see that humans weren't the monsters he'd once thought them to be.

"But a few days ago, Reshiram became restless, saying Hilda was in danger. Colress has already confirmed that my father is up to no good and has somehow involved not only Hilda, but Kyurem, as well, in his plans. I saw what you did to that Lucario, and I-"

N paused as a delivery man suddenly approached him from behind with a package in hand, passed it to him, and left just as mysteriously as he'd arrived without uttering a single word. As the delivery man left, N opened the package and found a small tablet, which turned on automatically in his hand and revealed Ghetsis on the screen.

"Greetings, N," Ghetsis said through the device, his evil smirk unmistakable.

"Ghetsis, what are you planning this time?" N asked with a frown, wanting to skip the fake formalities with his father. "Where's Hilda?"

"Heh. Do not worry; the Heroine of Ideals is still alive... for now."

Then, the image changed, showing an unconscious Hilda chained to a chair. N could clearly see the myriad of bruises covering her body and gritted his teeth. How could his father do that to Hilda? Then, the image on the screen returned to Ghetsis.

"She refused to collaborate with us and give away Zekrom's whereabouts. She is quite a stubborn girl, but that's alright; I already know that you will be more than willing to cooperate in her stead. So, N, where is Reshiram? Don't try to lie to me and say you don't know; I've already received several reports about a white dragon flying above Castelia City."

"What will happen if I refuse to give up Reshiram's whereabouts? " N challenged.

Ghetsis continued to smirk, and at the same time, several people clustered around the Pokémon Center's television set let out collective gasps and murmurs of horror. Gary, N, and Sycamore turned to see what the commotion was all about and watched in horror as the news broadcast images of Opelucid City being frozen solid. N turned back to the tablet.

"Kyurem's powers are amazing, aren't they? Now, N, I will be waiting for you and Reshiram at Giant Chasm in three days. If you do not show up, your dear Hilda will become Kyurem's next meal."

With that, the tablet turned off. N gritted his teeth as he tossed the tablet to the ground in anger, breaking it. He fell to his knees, not knowing what to do. If he didn't show up with Reshiram, Hilda would be killed and more cities would be frozen solid, but if he did show up, he'd be putting the entire world in terrible danger. Gary and Sycamore were speechless; they didn't know what to say until Blue and N's Zoroark, Black, entered the room.

"Get up," Blue said in a cold tone. "My mother didn't die for someone who has a weak heart like yours."

Sycamore was understandably surprised to hear firsthand that Lucario really was capable of using human speech. Gary simply stood by quietly. He coud feel how serious Blue was in that moment.

"Black told me what happened over the past four seasons. You rescued my mother from those pochers, and I am truly grateful to you for taking care of her and my... little brother," Blue mentally cringed. No matter how many times he reminded himself that he now had a little brother, it still felt strange to say so out loud. "But I refuse to believe that my mother gave her life to save someone weak like you, who was once called Team Plasma's king."

Black had told him everything that happened to his mother. His mother had a gentle heart and treated N like he was one of her own. When Ghetsis revealed his true nature, he tried to kill N, but Zoroark protected him, shielding him from Ghetsis's sword, which pierced her heart. It was no wonder why Blue had seen her when he was hovering between life and death at the bottom of the lake with Gary.

N stared at Blue. Though his words stung, N could feel that they were actually meant to give him courage. N got up and looked at Gary before finally revealing why he'd been telling them his story before Ghetsis's unsavory interruption. He finally asked them to help him.

"I saw what you did for Blue and that Blaziken. I know I can't deal with Ghetsis by myself. Hilda could have called for Zekrom to help her, but she didn't for some reason. I am afraid that Ghetsis will use Reshiram and Kyurem in his plans."

Gary didn't need to hear anything else. He agreed to help him stop this Ghetsis, partially because Ghetsis reminded Gary very much of Hunter J, the woman who'd been responsible for Ash's death, and he would not allow this Ghetsis to kill Hilda or any other innocent people. Sycamore also offered to help. Since they were dealing with Dragon-types, it would be useful to take at least one Fairy-type with them, and Pearl was more than happy to help her saviors.

"I also want to help."

They turned around and saw May staring at them from the doorway with bandages covering the right side of her face. Blaziken was also by her side.

"They ruined the Contest and almost permanently injured Blaziken and Mienshao with those devices. I want to pay them back."

N was speechless; he'd never expected to be able to gather so much help to stop his father. He now felt like he actually had a chance to stop his father's madness for good this time.

"So, let's all go to the Giant Chasm," N said with determination.

XXX

At Giant Chasm, Hilda was still chained to the chair and trapped in a cell of Ghetsis's ship. Her entire body was in great pain, but even so, she found that all she could worry about was the hope that N wouldn't fall for Ghetsis's trap. Though her vision was very blurry, she doubted that this was the reason why everything around her appeared to have been sucked into a white abyss, leaving only a giant tree with an X mark in its trunk before her. The tree had a blue aura around it.

"Touch the seal…" a voice from the tree said.

"W-What…?" she said in wonder.

"Touch my seal, Heroine of Ideals."

For some reason, she could see the outline of what looked like a giant deer above that weird tree.

To be continued.

We're almost at the finish line for this story. Just three more chapters before the ending. I hope you've enjoyed the chapter. Next chapter, the battle against Ghetsis and Kyurem.

I want to thank Flock o' Seagulls for beta editing this. ^^


	10. Chapter 10

A New Journey  
Chapter 10- White Kyurem

Thanks to the help of a Gardevoir who had befriended N some time ago, the group arrived at the Giant Chasm. As they had expected, the entire area was bitterly cold and snowy. N, being more familiar with Unova's varying climates than his human allies, had told them to get some winter clothes to face the cold climate of Kyurem's lair. They were hidden behind some trees as they carefully watched a big ship, the Plasma Frigate, before them. Blue, using his special ability, placed his paw on the ground and closed his eyes so that he could feel the Aura of the frigate's occupants through the ground.

"Most of the humans are inside of that metal thing over there, but I can feel the presence of three humans and the titanic Aura of a Pokémon inside of that cave. One of the humans is female and injured, while the other two are male and unharmed. The titanic Aura must belong to Kyurem," Blue said as he opened his eyes.

"Hilda must be there, and the other two humans are no doubt my father and Colress," N said to the others.

"We need to come up with a plan before we try doing anything. Especially when most of the Plasma members are inside of that ship," Gary commented as he watched two Plasma Grunts stand guard over the ship.

Prof. Sycamore suggested that he could go to the ship and keep all of the members of Team Plasma on board busy, while the others went to the cave to save Hilda and stop Ghetsis's plans for Kyurem. Gary disagreed, saying it was too dangerous. The professor of Kalos smiled, reassuring Gary that he would be fine because he had powerful Pokémon with him and was also a proficient hacker.

"Since you might face Kyurem, take Pearl with you," Prof. Sycamore said as he handed Pearl's Poké Ball to Gary. "Even if Kyurem is a legendary Pokémon, he's still a Dragon-type. Pearl should be strong enough to face him, since she's a Fairy-type."

"Understood. You should take Skiddo. She might be young, but her Headbutts and her Grass-type attacks are strong," Gary said, giving his Skiddo's Poké Ball to Sycamore.

"And I want you take Black with you," N said as he looked at his young Zoroark. "The frigate's master controls are in the center of the ship. To avoid unnecessary battles, Black can disguise you as a Plasma Grunt. That should give you enough time to get in and hack their system before anyone realizes what's going on."

"(Heh, it'll be fun to fool those idiots,) " Black said, smirking.

Gary looked at May, asking her if she was ready. She nodded to him, feeling prepared. Blue turned to Black, telling him to be careful because he wanted to learn more about his little brother later. Black smiled and said he would be fine since he was his mother's child and had inherited both her strength and her personality. With that, the group split apart.

At the cave, N's group was slowly making progress as they got ever closer to meeting Ghetsis and rescuing Hilda. Blue was feeling extremely tense and nervous; he'd never felt an Aura so cold and powerful before. Not even the Kami Trio or his master had such powerful Auras.

Gary, noticing Blue's tense gait, felt concern for the Aura Pokémon and asked, "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not. I can feel Kyurem's Aura. It's very powerful, and that scares me. I don't know if I can face him, even with that evolved form I took in the park," Blue answered, forcing a small, nervous smile as he looked at Gary. "By the way, thanks for... before. Even though you're missing an arm, you risked your life and nearly drowned trying to save me."

"It was nothing," Gary said with a warm smile, waving his hand dismissively. "I would do it again in a heartbeat, if necessary."

"Wha-? Why?!" Blue asked, clearly surprised. "We barely know each other. Is this related to your friend- the one you told me you'd lost when we were in the lake? The first time we met, you mistook me for someone else; was that...him?"

Gary was silent for a moment; he hadn't expected this question. Gary was certain the Pokémon before him was his deceased friend, who'd died while holding his hand. The proof was in the moment he accidentally caused Blue to Mega Evolve. A Mega Evolution could only occur if the bond between Pokémon and Trainer was strong, and while Blue was right in saying that he and Gary barely knew each other, that said nothing for the strong bond of friendship Gary had held with Ash. In case there was still any doubt in the researcher's mind, the images he'd seen when Blue evolved were of memories that no one else could have possibly known about, except for him and Ash.

"Yes, that was him. His name was Ash. He was stubborn and could be kind of dense sometimes, but he had a good heart; he always put the safety of his Pokémon before himself. He did a lot of incredible things while he was on his journey to become a Pokémon Master, including getting to meet all of the legendary Pokémon in every region he traveled to," Gary said, remembering all of the stories Ash had told him about his adventures with the legendary Pokémon.

"That's true," May added with a nostalgic smile. "While I was traveling with him, we had the opportunity to see Jirachi, Manaphy, and Mew."

Blue's eyes widened in shock when they mentioned these names, especially Mew's. For some reason, he saw images of a dying Lucario and a boy holding his paw while he went to the spirit world. Blue mentioned that they were lucky to meet Mew- the mother of all the Pokémon.

"It's funny; you two have been in my dreams ever since I was a Riolu, especially you, Gary Oak. You were in my dreams most of the time, but I don't know why."

Gary was surprised when Blue mentioned the dreams. May didn't understand why she and Gary would be in his dreams, but Gary knew exactly what this meant. There was no doubt that Blue was Ash's reincarnation. The miko's voice was still ringing in his ears as images of Ash's last moments played out in his mind.

"Maybe Arceus made you have these dreams because he planned for us to meet one day. You know, Ash's death didn't just scar my body; it left a scar on my heart, as well, since I saw him take his last breath," Gary said as he placed his right hand on his stump, where his arm used to be. "The night before he died, Ash told me that he'd had a special bond with a Lucario he met in Kanto, and that he..." Gary hesitated for a second, "...considered your kind to be very special to him. Arceus knew this and might have sent you to heal my spiritual wounds."

Gary didn't know why he didn't tell Blue that he was Ash's reincarnation. Something had stopped him from saying it out loud, but for some reason, he didn't regret keeping Blue's true identity a secret from him. May was confused by Gary's words, having no idea what the young researcher really meant to say. Blue looked confused, as well, but he accepted Gary's explication without debate.

"You know, you may be right about this, Gary Oak," Blue said as he looked at Gary. "Master Cobalion once told me that Arceus has a way of playing with the destinies of everyone to get them to do as he wishes."

Gary nodded in agreement, but before he could say anything more, N warned the group that they were almost at Kyurem's lair, and the others grew silent with anxiety. When they arrived at the center of the cave, they found Kyurem, Ghetsis, and Colress waiting for them.

"Greetings, N," Ghetsis said, his evil smirk unmistakable. "You came sooner than expected."

"Where's Hilda, Ghetsis?" N asked with a frown, wanting to skip the fake formalities with his father.

Ghetsis's smirk widened as he moved away and revealed Hilda- unconscious, seriously injured, and chained to a chair- to the group.

"Hilda!" N shouted worriedly. He noticed new wounds covering her body that hadn't been there when he last spoke with Ghetsis.

Hilda groaned as she finally regained consciousness again. She looked up to find N surrounded by people she had never met before; although, she recognized May- a top Coordinator from the Hoenn region.

Tears rolled down the Heroine of Ideals's cheeks as she yelled, "N, why are you here? It's a trap!"

She was quickly silenced as Ghetsis drew his sword and pointed it at her neck. N and the others immediately tensed; if any of them made one false move, Hilda would be killed.

XXX

Inside of the Plasma Frigate, thanks to Black's illusions, Prof. Sycamore was able to go through the ship without any problems, avoiding unnecessary battles. Black dropped the illusions as they arrived at the frigate's central control center, while Sycamore quickly went to work hacking into the system. The professor was so absorbed in his work that he paid no mind to Skiddo when she unexpectedly emerged from her Poké Ball and began checking out her new surroundings. If she was going to be perfectly honest, the place was giving her chills. She was considering returning to the safe refuge of her Poké Ball when she noticed some Poké Balls on the nearby table and felt the sudden compulsion to open them. When she did, a Samurott, a Swanna, a Zebstrika, a Sawsbuck, and a Darmanitan came out.

Prof. Sycamore was understandably startled by the Pokémon's sudden appearance, but then he noticed that they were actually Hilda's Pokémon and were grievously wounded, as if they had been tortured. The professor of Kalos stopped what he was doing to check on the Pokémon. Most of them would be fine- though their wounds were serious, it was nothing that a good Super Potion wouldn't fix- but the damage Samurott had taken was a lot more serious and worried the professor. Bruises and burn marks covered his body, causing the poor Pokémon to moan in pain even as Sycamore administered a Burn Heal to him. Feeling that Prof. Sycamore could be trusted, Swanna helped him heal Samurott, using her Aqua Ring to take care of his other injuries. However, even with Swanna helping him, Prof. Sycamore was afraid that Samurott wouldn't be able to pull through.

"Hey! What are you doing here?!" a Team Plasma Grunt shouted at Sycamore as he entered the control room. Sycamore glared at the grunt, but said nothing as he walked back over to the frigate's main computer and pushed a button, closing up all of the entrances and exits of the ship.

The grunt jumped slightly in surprise as the door behind him slammed shut, and as he stared back at Sycamore in surprise, the professor coldly said in a serious tone, "I really hate what you people did to these Pokémon, especially this poor Samurott. I usually wouldn't do something like this, but you deserve to be crushed for what you've done."

Sycamore took four Poké Balls from his belt and threw them in the air, releasing a Charizard, a Blastoise, a Venusaur, and a Garchomp simultaneously. He then rolled up his sleeve, revealing four Mega Rings on his left arm.

XXX

Back at the cave, everyone was tense. Hilda could feel the coldness of the blade touching her skin. Ghetsis was looking at N with a smirk on his face, asking the green-haired young man about the legend surrounding Zekrom, Reshiram, and Kyurem. N was confused as to why his father was asking such a question.

"Well, since none of you understand, allow me to share a little story with all of you. A long time ago, there was a powerful dragon who acted as guardian of these lands, but one day, the dragon had to fight against an equally powerful demon. They fought for seven days and seven nights, until the dragon finally emerged victorious. However, his victory came at a great price; during their struggle, the dragon was infected by the demon's miasma. To avoiding becoming corrupted, the dragon divided himself into three pieces- one to represent mind, another to represent body, and a final piece to represent spirit."

Ghetsis paused to grab Hilda by the hair and yank her head back, causing her to yelp in pain. She immediately quieted when she felt Ghetsis press his sword closer to her neck.

"Reshiram represents the truth, which also represents spirit; Zekrom represents ideals, which also represent the mind; and Kyurem here represents the body- the body that's eagerly waiting to get its mind and spirit back."

Blue's eyes widened in shock over Ghetsis's explanation. He knew about Kyurem thanks to his master and the other Swords of Justice. This madman's plan was to fuse Kyurem with Reshiram and Zekrom to return Kyurem to his original form.

_'N, whatever you do, do not call Reshiram,'_ Blue warned N through his Aura. 'His plan is to fuse Kyurem with the other dragons. If he does that, we're doomed.'

N was sweating. He'd known his father had been harboring terrible intentions for Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem, but he'd never realized just how terrible they truly were until that very moment. He spared a glance for Kyurem and found that he was standing completely still, almost like a statue Why wasn't he doing anything? Had Ghetsis done something to him? Gary was having the same exact thought, but from his angle, he was able to spot something unusual on the back of Kyurem's neck. Could it be the same device that had controlled May's Pokémon?

"I don't know how this girl learned about my intentions for Zekrom, but she did. When we found her, she had already released Zekrom to keep him from me. It was such a pity; I'd wanted that dragon ever since your little friend and Zekrom managed to defeat you. Luckily for me, I knew one of the dragons' few weaknesses; did you know that the chosen heroes have such a deep connection to their dragons that they always know when something happens to their human partners? I was hoping to use that bond to lure Zekrom here, but no matter how much we tortured her, her mind refused to break and she never called out to her dragon. I must admit, she has a very strong mind and will. It's no wonder Zekrom has accepted her to be his Heroine of Ideals," Ghetsis stared straight at N, his face twisting to reveal a wicked, cold-hearted smirk before he continued, "but you, my son, you've never had a strong mind."

To everyone's horror, they were completely helpless to stop Ghetsis before the evil Plasma leader slashed his sword across Hilda's throat. N let out a horrified scream and rushed towards them, only for Ghetsis to cruelly throw Hilda to him before jumping back to stand beside Colress. N managed to catch Hilda before she could collapse to the ground, and he was quickly joined by May as she took her bandana from her head and pressed it to Hilda's neck in an effort to stanch the bleeding. Gary stared upon the scene in horror; he couldn't believe what he was seeing, and as he watched his friends tend to Hilda's injury, he kept asking himself over and over again how they could have let this happen. Soon enough, however, his horror and shock turned to anger, and he glared at Ghetsis with righteous fury as the Plasma leader watched the scene before him unfold with that same evil smirk on his face.

"You son of a bitch!" Gary shouted, only for Blue to jump in front of him as he sensed an attack approaching them. He quickly formed a protective barrier over them as a Hydreigon flew overhead before coming to float in front of his master.

"You have to pull yourself together, Gary Oak; do not lose your cool," Blue said as he glared at Ghetsis and his Dragon-type Pokémon.

May gulped nervously, slowly getting nauseous as she felt Hilda's blood seep through her bandana and onto her palms; she'd never seen so much blood before. She wouldn't allow herself to lose focus or give up, though- she needed to stop Hilda's bleeding. She spared a glance for N, finding the green-haired teen looking down at his hands, which were covered with Hilda's blood. His whole body trembled as he stared at the blood congealing in his palms, but before May could even attempt to say something that might comfort him, N balled his hands into fists and released a scream of pure anguish that pierced the air around them. In that same moment, the cave began to quake as Reshiram appeared, smashing a hole in the roof of the cave as he landed behind N and the others and roared furiously. Ghetsis smirked. This was exactly what he had wanted N to do.

"Now, Colress!"

Colress nodded and pressed down one of the buttons on the device in his hand. Almost instantly, Kyurem's eyes started to glow and he began roaring, as well, while strange tentacles emerged from the Ice Dragon Pokémon's body and lashed out to wrap around Reshiram. Reshiram tried to fight, but the tentacles were too powerful. Suddenly, Reshiram was transformed into a light sphere, and the tentacles moved to put the sphere in Kyurem's mouth, who quickly swallowed it. N and the others gasped in horror as flames came to cover Kyurem's body, and they realized they were helpless to stop the Pokémon as his transformation got under way. When the flames finally died down, the transformation was complete, and before the group stood the White Kyurem.

To be continued.

That's chapter 10. I hope you enjoyed it. There will be a lot more tension in the next chapter. Will our heroes defeat the White Kyurem? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out.

I want to thank Flock o' Seagulls for beta-editing this. ^^


	11. Chapter 11

A New Journey  
Chapter 11- Spirit of Fairies

Everybody was totally shocked as they gazed upon Kyurem in his white form. Blue was quivering in fear as he felt Kyurem's Aura grow larger following his fusion with Reshiram. That fear left him completely paralyzed. Ghetsis smirked, feeling nothing could stop him now.

"Now, Kyurem, use your power to show these fools what happens to anyone who crosses Team Plasma!"

White Kyurem's eyes glowed as he roared and fired at the heroes with Dragon Rage. The attack triggered an explosion as it struck, and Ghetsis laughed, thinking his enemies had been destroyed. However, his laughter immediately died as soon as he noticed Zekrom standing before him, protecting the heroes from the blast.

"That's…." May started as she recognized the black dragon of Unova.

"That's Zekrom!" Gary exclaimed. "But why is it here?"

Zekrom ignored the surprised reactions of the humans around him. All of his attention was directed at Hilda, who was covered head to toe in her own blood. May yelped in surprise as the black dragon took Hilda's body in his giant talons and lifted her up. He noticed the horrible cut on her throat and released a low growl of sorrow at the sight of it.

_"You fought until the very end for my sake. I could feel all the pain these people were causing you. I wanted to rescue you, but you kept warning me not to come. I was honored to have you as my heroine, Hilda White. May you rest in peace,"_ Zekrom said through telepathy with tears rolling down his scaly face as he removed the chains that had been tied around Hilda's body.

He gently laid Hilda's body on the ground beside N, who agreed to the dragon's request to protect Hilda's body for him. The black dragon roared furiously at Ghetsis as White Kyurem blocked his way. The Team Plasma leader smirked at Zekrom's failed attempt to reach him and ordered Colress to reactivate the DNA Splicer so that Kyurem could absorb Zekrom, as well. Colress frowned, explaining that that would be impossible because the splicer needed at least a day to recharge before it could be activated again. Ghetsis growled, angered, and said he doesn't need Zekrom; Reshiram's power would be enough. He ordered White Kyurem to attack Zekrom.

White Kyurem roared as he and Zekrom started to fight. To make sure the Hero of Truth and his allies would remain unharmed, Zekrom lured White Kyurem out of the cave, going through the hole that Reshiram had made before and into the high skies. Ghetsis shouted into his communicator, ordering his grunts to take the ship to aid Kyurem, but he didn't receive any response until an unfamiliar voice finally spoke.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but the ship is under new management and won't be taking off anytime soon; you'd may as well forget about getting aid to anyone." Gary smiled as he recognized the voice as Professor Sycamore's. "I will never forgive what you people did to that girl's Pokémon, especially to the poor Samurott who died, thanks to you."

N's eyes widened in horror when he heard that. He could not believe that Hilda's Samurott was now dead, and he held Hilda's body closer to him as he imagined the suffering his dear friend and her Pokémon had endured before their group's arrival. How had everything ended up like this?

After a brief moment of silence, Professor Sycamore continued, "Gary, if you can hear me, would you mind doing me a favor? Kick those bastards' asses."

The communication ended as Ghetsis brutally threw the communicator to the ground, breaking it. Ghetsis summoned his Salamence, who roared in anger, along with Hydreigon, to protect his master. Colress also summoned his strongest Pokémon, which was a Metagross. Gary looked at Blue and saw he wasn't paralyzed anymore; it seemed that, with Kyurem away, Blue didn't feel sick from his strong Aura.

"Are you okay to fight now?" asked Gary, looking at Blue.

"Y-Yeah. Now that Kyurem is far enough away, I can fight without feeling ill from his Aura," Blue replied. "Let's defeat these guys together."

Gary was now feeling a lot more confident, and he smiled as he felt their bond connect them again. Their Mega Evolution Stones glowed, and once again, Blue transformed into a Mega Lucario. May also summoned her Blaziken, and her bracelet, similar to Gary's, shone as Blaziken became Mega Blaziken, shocking Gary.

"Wait, you have a Mega Ring too?" Gary asked May, confused and shocked.

"Yeah; before coming to Unova, I met this strange miko lady. Her ghost Pokémon stole one of my Contest ribbons that was very special to me, and she ordered them to give it back. The old lady even gave me this bracelet and a stone for Blaziken and told me they would come in handy when the time was right."

Now, Gary was even more confused that before. No, that couldn't have been the same miko he and Hugh had met in Pinwheel Forest... right? Who was that miko, exactly? Gary shook his head to rid himself of the thought and summoned Pearl, Prof. Sycamore's Sylveon, to aid them in the battle, since the professor had told him before that Fairy-types had a huge advantage over Dragon-types.

The great battle at Giant Chasm has started.

XXX

Hilda opened her eyes and gasped in surprise when she noticed she was back in the strange white abyss from before. How had she ended up here again? She racked her brain trying to figure out how she'd gotten back here, and upon remembering the events that had just transpired, she instinctively placed her hand on her throat and was surprised to discover that it was alright. Now, she was confused; hadn't Ghetsis cut her neck? Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a familiar voice, and she turned around to find her Samurott standing there.

"Samurott!" Hilda exclaimed as she hugged her Pokémon. She felt relieved to see her very first Pokémon there with her; at least she wasn't alone anymore. "Samurott, do you know where we are?"

Samurott shook his head; he had no idea where they were, either. Then, he felt a powerful presence as a huge, white tree with an X mark in its trunk appeared before them. Hilda recognized the tree.

_"Touch the seal…"_ the same voice from before said.

"W-What…?" she said in wonder.

_"Touch my seal, Heroine of Ideals."_

Hilda looked at Samurott as he nodded to her. He could feel that, while the Aura coming from the tree was powerful, it wasn't threatening. Hilda always trusted Samurott's judgment and, feeling encouraged, she touched the X mark.

Suddenly, the tree started to change its form, slowly transforming into a giant blue and black deer-like Pokémon with a powerful blue Aura around his body. Hilda noticed that the irises of his eyes were crossed, almost like an X.

_"Finally, we meet, child of the Fairy Clan,"_ the deer-like spirit said.

"W-Who are you?" Hilda asked, afraid. "What do you mean by 'child of the Fairy Clan?'"

_"I am Xerneas, guardian of life. You, Hilda White, are one of the last descendants of the Fairy Clan, a family of humans where only women had my blessing in their veins."_

Xerneas started to explain that, a long time ago, a brave knight had a very sick daughter, and he didn't want to lose her. The man took his child to Xerneas in the hopes that the legendary Pokémon could restore her health, and the deer-like Pokémon gave a portion of his energy to her, turning her into the first member of the Fairy Clan- a family of women who were devoted to protecting life and nature with the power to calm down and tame the fury of Pokémon, especially dragons. Hilda's eyes widened in surprise at Xerneas's explanation. Looking back on her journey, she realized that she'd always had a knack for calming down angry Pokémon, especially Dragon-types. Could she really be a descendant of this Fairy Clan that Xerneas spoke of?

"W-Wait, why are you here? And where is here, exactly?" Hilda asked the great deer-like spirit.

_"We're in the limbo between life and death. That man, Ghetsis, has killed you. Your partner, Samurott, fought with all his might so that he might help you, but he didn't survive the wounds he received from Ghetsis's men."_ Hilda was shocked. She and Samurott... were dead? Xerneas continued his explanation, undeterred by Hilda's stunned expression, _"I am here because, even in my sealed state, I could hear your cries for help, and I saw what that man did to Kyurem. I can't do much because my true body is sealed away in a distant land, but you, child of the Fairy Clan, can still help your friends."_

"How?" she asked, apprehensive of what she might hear from the legendary Pokémon.

_"Become one of my spirit guardians,"_ Xerneas said, shocking Samurott and Hilda greatly _"Since the beginning of time and space, we, the great guardians whom you people refer to as 'legendary Pokémon,' can choose humans with very special souls to become spirit guardians and protect the balance of this world. Of course, the decision to become a spirit guardian is entirely up to you; you can go to the spirit realm or be reincarnated, either as a human again or as a Pokémon. The choice is yours."_

Hilda was silent for a long time, not knowing what to do. She hadn't expected to be given such an important decision. She once again looked at Samurott, before images of her last moments played out in her mind. Her hands closed into fists, and she finally made her decision.

XXX

Ghetsis growled as he watched his Hydreigon faint under the power of the final Aura Sphere Blue threw at the dual Dark/Dragon-type. His Salamence, meanwhile, was facing total humiliation from Pearl the Sylveon, while May's Mega Blaziken crushed Colress's Metagross.

"I guess even with pseudo-legendary Pokémon, you can't beat us," Gary said, glaring at the leader of Team Plasma. "You'd may as well just give up and surrender now."

Ghetsis scoffed. Him, surrender to mere commoners? He was the true king of Team Plasma! He shouted he would never surrender, and at that moment, Blue's eyes widened in shock and he ordered Blaziken to take May and get away. Mega Blaziken did what he was ordered, while Blue took Gary in his arms and jumped away, along with Pearl. To everyone's surprise, Zekrom crashed into the ground, right where they'd all been standing just seconds before, looking seriously wounded as White Kyurem floated through the air above them. Ghetsis smirked. Now that Zekrom was out of commission, no one would be able to defeat him as long as he had White Kyurem under his control. He ordered the dragon Pokémon to use his Draco Meteor attack to annihilate the fools who'd dared to oppose him.

Gary and the others were horrified as they saw the attack coming directly toward them. Blue unconsciously hugged Gary as Mega Blaziken did the same with May, while N held Hilda's body closer to him and Pearl nuzzled her face against his back. Everyone closed their eyes, expecting the end to come.

However, the attack never hit. When the group opened their eyes in collective confusion, they were startled to see a strange woman wearing even stranger armor and riding on a …winged Samurott?

The stranger's outfit consisted of blue armor covering her chest, arms, and boots, including a pair of blue gauntlets that reached up just past her elbows. Blue crystals adorned her lower neck and and the golden belt at her waist. Flowing around her legs and under the armor, there appeared to be white cloth with golden fringe billowing against the wind. Her boots were metallic and light blue, and a helmet with feathers covered her cranium.

"Are you alright?" she asked, turning to face the group she'd just saved.

Everybody gasped in shock when they realized she was Hilda. How... How was that even possible? Wasn't she...? They turned to N, who was still cradling her body protectively in his arms. How could she be standing there when N was holding her dead body? And why she was riding on a winged Samurott, of all things?

"Gary!" a familiar voice called out.

Gary turned around and saw Prof. Sycamore rushing towards them with Black, Skiddo, and a bunch of Pokémon that Gary recognized as being native to the Unova region. Sycamore's jaw dropped when he saw the same Samurott that had died in the Plasma Frigate, now standing before him and sporting wings. He was also surprised to see N holding a girl's body- whom he deduced to be Hilda- who was also riding on Samurott's back across the cave. Even her Pokémon were shocked and confused. Colress was also shocked; it was physically impossible for the same person to exist in two different places, yet there she was, both lying in N's arms and riding on her Samurott. Ghetsis only growled furiously, shouting that the ghost of a mere girl whom he'd already killed would not be enough to stop his plans.

Hilda glared at her assassin and at the transformed dragon Pokémon beside him before looking at her own dragon partner in sympathy. She offered a silent apology to Kyurem for the pain she was about to cause him, and before White Kyurem could do anything to stop her, a spear suddenly appeared in Hilda's hand with a beam of light emanating from its point. Everyone was blinded by the light for a moment before they saw Kyurem fall to the ground with golden, glowing chains wrapped around his entire body, binding him in place. Zekrom blinked in surprise as he caught sight of the wounds the chains were causing to the other legendary dragon.

"I think it's your turn now, Lucario, Blaziken."

Both Fighting-type Pokémon nodded to each other and jumped high into the air, towards White Kyurem. Mega Blaziken used Fire Punch, while Blue used Thunder Punch on White Kyurem's neck, destroying the device Team Plasma had used to control him. White Kyurem roared as flames covered his body, and when the flames died, Kyurem returned to his original form as he puked out the Light Stone, Reshiram's reverted form.

Hilda dismounted from Samurott's back and slowly walked towards Ghetsis and Colress, who were now terrified by the ghost girl's presence.

"Ghetsis, you and Colress have committed countless atrocities against both Pokémon and humans alike. You, Ghetsis, abused your own son and used him to further your own selfish goals, and you even abused Pokémon to trick N into thinking that all Trainers are abusive toward their partners, while you, Colress, used Pokémon as subjects in your cruel experiments, damaging their bodies and minds in terrible, inhumane ways," Hilda paused for a moment as she glared at the duo of villains. "I would let Kyurem, Reshiram, and Zekrom take the revenge on you that they so justly deserve, but there's someone else who wants to punish both of you herself."

With that, Hilda pointed her hand towards the two villains, causing a portal to open up behind them. With her lance, Hilda summoned a blast of light that pushed the villains into the portal, which immediately closed as soon as Ghetsis and Colress were sucked inside of it. Everyone was stunned silent by the unexpected display, until Prof. Sycamore finally recovered from his shock and found his tongue again.

"Where did you send them?" he asked.

"To a place where they will never hurt anyone else again," Hilda answered, coldly.

XXX

In an unknown location, Ghetsis and Colress found themselves in a very strange place. The trees, rocks, water, and even the land itself were all inverted at odd angles and the world's rust-colored land masses were divided into strange, floating islands drifting through a dark, spinning whirlpool of spatial clouds. They had no idea where they could possibly be. Before Colress could make even a single move in this strange, distorted world, a black tentacle pierced his chest, killing him instantly. Ghetsis looked on in horror as his subordinate's body was lifted by the tentacle and flung down into the void of clouds below. The leader of Team Plasma gasped in horror when he finally saw the owner of the tentacle leering above him- Giratina, the legendary Pokémon who represented antimatter in Sinnoh's Creation Trio. Giratina growled at Ghetsis as the villain cried out, horrified, as the jaw of the dual-type Ghost/Dragon legendary hovered over his head. His cries were forever silenced as Giratina sealed his fate.

XXX

Hilda's hands stopped glowing as the last wound on Sawsbuck healed. The deer-like Pokémon smiled at her Trainer as she nuzzled her face. Reshiram had also been returned to his original form after Hilda gave some of her spiritual power to his Light Stone. N stared at Hilda with soft eyes.

"You're really dead?"

Hilda returned his gaze as she nodded to him. She explained that a Pokémon named Xerneas told her she was one of the last decendants of the Fairy Clan, which was why he could hear her cries for help. Zekrom didn't look very happy when Hilda explained that Xerneas made her his nature spirit guardian. Hilda looked at him with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Zekrom. I know you wanted me to become your spirit guardian when I passed away, but Xerneas got to me first and made me his fairy spirit guardian instead. Maybe your next hero or heroine will be right for the job?"

"What do you mean?" May asked, curious.

"Xerneas told me that sometimes the legendary Pokémon choose special human souls to be their spirit guardians, but the choice is ultimately up to the soul whether or not she or he really wants to become a guardian. The soul can also choose to be reincarnated as a human or a Pokémon."

For some reason, those words seemed very familiar to Blue, but he couldn't remember why. Gary nodded as everything Hilda said matched up with what that miko had told him before. Then, Hilda kissed N's lips as she asked him to take her body back to her home and to take care of her Pokémon. She started to float, going toward the sky, along with her Samurott; it was time for them to go to the spirit world. N was still holding her hand. Feeling he was about to lose his grip, N looked at Hilda.

"Natural," N said. Everybody was confused. Natural? What was that supposed to mean? "My full name is Natural Harmonia Gropius," N finished, making Hilda smiling.

"My full name is Brunhild White II."

With that, Hilda and Samurott disappeared into the sky, giving their last goodbyes to their Pokémon and human friends. Everyone looked up as they saw Hilda and Samurott disappear. Gary, who understood how N was feeling most, hugged the green-haired boy as he started to cry on his shoulder. Many emotions were going through his heart, but most of them revolved around his regrets, freedom, sadness, and gratitude.

This would definitely be a day that none of them would soon forget.

To be continued.

Okay, guys, one more chapter to go before the story is over. I am very grateful for all the reviews you've sent to me. Next chapter will show the choices of the characters on how they will spend their lives after this. Will Blue become Gary's Pokémon? Will the truth be revealed? Wait to see in the next chapter!

I want to thank Flock o' Seagulls for beta-editing this. ^^


	12. Chapter 12

A New Journey  
Chapter 12- New Beginnings

A few days after the events at Giant Chasm, Gary was finally able to visit Hugh at the hospital. Gary apologized to his friend for not visiting sooner, since a lot had happened since Team Plasma's attack at the Contest. Hugh was shocked when Gary told him the whole story.

"Wow, all that happened since I was brought here?" Hugh asked, the surprise evident in his voice.

Gary nodded to him. "Yeah. It was horrible seeing Ghetsis kill that girl, Hilda, without being able to help her, but in the end, it was her spirit who saved us. After she dealt with her assassin and the mad scientist working for him, Hilda asked N to take her body back to her home in Nuvema Town. The funeral was yesterday. N disappeared right after the service was over when one of Hilda's friends, Cheren, blamed him for her death. I don't think that was N's only reason for leaving, though; I know how it feels to lose someone dear to you right before your eyes. He probably wanted to get away to escape the memories of what happened. Can't say that I blame him," Gary said as he remembered Ash's last moments at the Sinjoh Ruins.

His thoughts were interrupted when a little girl entered the room, whom Gary recognized as Hugh's little sister. Then, he remembered that her Liepard was still with him. Gary smiled as he gave his Poké Ball to the little girl. She looked confused until the Poké Ball suddenly opened, revealing Emerald. Hugh's little sister smiled brightly as she hugged her long lost Pokémon, and both she and Hugh thanked him for bringing their Pokémon back safely. Gary smiled, feeling good for making a little girl happy. Gary mentioned that in two days he would be returning to Kanto since his business in Unova was finished, and he'd actually come to say goodbye to Hugh before his departure. He turned to exit the room, but Hugh stopped him to finally ask the question that had been bothering him ever since Gary's arrival.

"Hey, Gary, did that bracelet help you find what you were looking for?"

Gary turned around and smiled.

"Yes, it did... and it did so much more."

With that, Gary left the hospital and headed to Nimbasa's Pokémon Center.

XXX

At the Pokémon Center, Blue was floored by Green's unexpected declaration that he'd decided to join May on her Contest circuit. The Mienshao explained to Blue that he really liked May's Shiny Mienshao and that he also admired how Coordinators made their Pokémon's attacks look so beautiful and attractive, something that Green really enjoyed and wanted to take part in.

"How about you, Blue? Have you decided to go with that human, Gary Oak?"

"I dunno," he answered sincerely. "I feel like I should go with him, but…"

He felt he should go with him, but what would his master, Cobalion, say if he found out that he'd chosen to become partners with a human? Especially when it was thanks to some particularly cruel humans that he'd been separated from his mother and become orphaned at such a young age? However, the more Blue thought about it, the more he found himself thinking about the strange connection he shared with Gary and all the unfamiliar memories he still held of the human.

"You should go with him," Green said, smiling. "My mother once told me that some bonds are so strong, they can transcend a lifetime. You may have just met the guy in this life, but perhaps, you both already met once before in a past life."

Blue looked at Green with wonder. For some reason, those words sounded somewhat familiar to him. Then, he smiled. Green was right; he may have just met Gary, but he felt like he'd known him much longer. His thoughts were broken as he saw a familiar trio approach them, and when he pointed them out to his friend, Green turned around to find Shiny Mienshao with Blaziken and May. He waved to them as he hugged Blue, thanking him for being his friend and having chosen him to be his partner on this epic adventure. Blue couldn't help but smile back. He would miss the crazy Mienshao. Green rushed to the small group as May welcomed him to her team, and she quickly took out a Poké Ball and used it to capture the other Mienshao, making Green officially hers before they departed from the Pokémon Center.

Blue smiled as he wished his friend luck. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked to his right to find Gary had arrived. Gary smiled and asked Blue if he wanted to go with him. Blue returned the smile as he kneeled before Gary.

"I accept you as my partner, Gary Oak."

Gary continued to smile as he took an empty Poké Ball from his belt and quickly caught Blue inside of it. The Poké Ball shook only briefly before the red light in the middle of it finally blinked off, signaling a successful capture. Gary took the Poké Ball and held it close to his heart with tears sliding down his face.

"Welcome back… Ash…"

XXX

Elsewhere, N was on a ship, headed to Kalos. He could have gone to Kalos faster with Reshiram, but he wanted some time to himself, away from everything that reminded him of Unova, Team Plasma, and his father. He wanted to cleanse his soul of the sins his father had committed. N could feel the oceanic breeze on his face as he looked at the blue sky.

"Hilda, I will never forget you," he whispered as he saw an image of Hilda and Samurott in the sky.

XXX

A few days had passed, and now, Gary was standing on top of a hill overlooking his hometown. He smiled as he felt the wind caress his face, carrying with it the familiar scent of the fields that were unique to Pallet Town. He took Blue's Poké Ball and called him out. When Blue emerged from his Poké Ball and Pallet Town came into his view, for some unknown reason, a nostalgic feeling seeped into his heart, causing tears to roll down his cheeks.

"Blue, are you alright?" Gary asked, concerned.

Blue looked surprised as he stared down at his paws, realizing that his tears were slowly dripping down onto them. He didn't know why he was crying, but he could tell that they were tears of joy.

"Sorry, but somehow, this place feels like… like home…" Blue said, as he tried to wipe the tears from his face.

Gary smiled and told Blue it was alright to cry. Then, he mentioned that there was one more place he wanted to visit before they went home. Blue was confused; what else was there in town that Gary wanted to visit? He got his answer when Pallet Memorial Cemetery came into view. Blue felt the Aura of this place, and he was surprised to feel not only the Aura of the dead, but the Aura of the living, as well. Gary smiled when an elderly man in priest robes came into view.

"Ah, Gary, welcome back," the elder said, smiling at Gary. "I though you were still in Unova."

"I just got back," Gary said, smiling back at the priest. "I figured I should come home early, especially since today is the anniversary of his death."

"Oh, I see. So, today is the day. You may not find Meganium, since she is taking care of her eggs, and Infernape is busy helping us clean the shrine and light the candles. However, you should still be able to find Pikachu in the usual place."

Gary nodded as he thanked the priest and continued on his way. Blue was confused, so Gary explained that Infernape, Bayleaf, and Pikachu had been Ash's most loyal Pokémon, and they'd decided to stay at the graveyard to remain near their Trainer and watch over him in his eternal slumber. At first, the priests had been against the idea of Pokémon living in the cemetery, but after seeing how loyal the Pokémon trio was, they allowed them to stay at the graveyard. With time, their presence helped make the graveyard a more beautiful place, especially after Bayleaf evolved into her final form, Meganium, the year before. With her abilities, she could make flowers for every tombstone, though obviously, she made sure Ash's were the prettiest.

"We're here," Gary said as he kneeled in front of Ash's grave and petted Pikachu, who was sleeping.

Pikachu blinked, disoriented for a moment, until he looked at Gary, smiled, and jumped into his arm. Gary hugged him briefly and received a lick on the cheek in return.

Hey, Pikachu. How are you doing, buddy?" Gary asked as he maneuvered Pikachu around in his arm so that he could scratch behind the electric mouse's ears.

"(Doing great!)" Pikachu replied. Then, Pikachu blinked in confusion as he saw the Lucario at Gary's side. "(Who's that?)"

Gary introduced Blue to Pikachu, causing both to stare into each other's eyes in a way that Gary would almost describe as awkward for several minutes before Blue finally broke the silence and told Pikachu it was a pleasure to meet him and that he felt honored to meet a Pokémon as loyal as him, since Blue admired people and Pokémon with a strong sense of loyalty to their partners. Pikachu blushed in embarrassment, causing Gary to smile as he asked Pikachu if he would mind taking Blue to meet Infernape and Meganium. Pikachu nodded and jumped from Gary's arm, motioning for Blue to follow him and meet his friends. Gary smiled, feeling happy that he'd gotten Blue to meet Pikachu.

"That was a very good thing you did, my dear."

Gary yelped and quickly spun around, startled to find the very same old miko he'd met with Hugh in Pinwheel Forest smiling at him.

"Ahh! It's you!" he yelled, pointing his finger at the miko accusingly.

"It's rude to point at people and yell in their ears like that, you know?"

Gary sweatdropped. Where had that old lady come from? He hadn't felt her presence a second ago... and had she followed him all the way from Unova to Kanto? Why? He asked the old lady why she was there, and she replied by flashing him a creepy smile and answering that she was there because she wanted to stop by and visit an old friend. Gary blinked, confused, as she placed flowers that Gary recognized as Gracideas- flowers of gratitude- on Ash's grave.

"I knew Ash long before either of you two were even born. He saved my life and restored my friendship I had with a very special human. After that, I decided to always watch over him; even though he has since been reincarnated into a new form, I shall continue to watch over him for all eternity."

"Who are you?" Gary looked confused. "You're a Pokémon, aren't you?"

The old lady gave him a wicked smile and chuckled, which sent shivers down Gary's spine. Even her laughter was creepy. Gary had a feeling that he'd be having all sorts of nightmares about her later that night.

"My apologies, dear; in my old age, I've grown fond of playing games with people. It staves off the boredom of living such a long life, you see. Now, young Gary Oak, what do you say to playing one last game with me? If you can correctly guess my name the next time we meet, I will give you a reward. Here is a clue: I can be everything and every type. "

"W-What?" Gary asked, confused. "What's that supposed to mean?""

"That's up to you to figure out," she replied in a playful sing-song tone before suddenly disappearing right before Gary's eyes.

Gary stood there, confused and feeling like an idiot. He didn't understand what that old lady meant when she said she'd known Ash since before he was born. Nobody could know someone before she or he was born, unless they had somehow mastered time travel, but the only time Ash had mentioned using time travel himself on his journey was…

Gary's eyes widened in pure shock.

"HOLY SHIT!"

His sudden outburst could be heard by everyone else in the graveyard, including Blue, Pikachu, Meganium, and Infernape, who all exchanged confused glances, wondering just what Gary was shouting over.

**Three Years Later...**

Lumiose City was the largest city in the Kalos region and also one of the most beautiful cities in the Pokémon world. Its main attraction was Prism Tower, located in Centrico Plaza at the heart of Lumiose City. Everything was peaceful in this city...

"Oh, my gosh, I'm late! I'm so late!"

...Except on this particular day, a young girl with blond hair and blue eyes was rushing around like a mad woman, while the passersby she ran by in her haste only looked on in confusion. She was rushing at high speed to Professor Sycamore's lab.

At the lab, Professor Sycamore was humming happily as he read over the reports he'd just received from his newest apprentice. He smiled as he realized how much the young researcher-in-training had learned over the past three years. There was no doubt in Sycamore's mind that his apprentice would be a great Pokémon Professor someday. The professor was startled when the doors to his lab were brutally thrown open to reveal a ten-year-old girl who looked completely disheveled, almost doubled over as her arms held open the doors and she panted for air.

"I'm here... to receive... my Pokémoooon..." With that, the girl fainted.

"My goodness!" shouted the professor, rushing to the girl.

After she recovered and drank plenty of water, the girl revealed to the professor that her name was Bonnie and she was there to get her Trainer's License and her starter Pokémon. Sycamore commented that they'd been expecting her in the morning, but she hadn't arrived until the middle of the afternoon. The girl started to whine.

"It's all because of those stupid ghost Pokémon!" she complained. "I was on my way here when those three stupid Ghost-types stole my pocket watch. I spent hours chasing them all over the whole city until an old miko lady came to my rescue and made them return my pocket watch."

Prof. Sycamore blinked, finding Bonnie's story to be strangely familiar. Where had he heard this story before? Then, Bonnie grabbed the professor's collar, yanking him down to her level and pleading with him desperately.

"Please, professor, tell me: are there any Pokémon left?"

Prof. Sycamore sweatdropped, avoiding eye contact with the girl as he muttered that all the starters had already been taken. The girl released the professor's collar, causing him to lose his balance and collapse backwards onto his coffee table. When he recovered and stood up, he was surprised to find Bonnie huddled in a corner with a gloomy aura around her, muttering about how cruel the world was to her. The professor sweatdropped as he felt pity for the girl, but he couldn't think of anything he could do to help her.

"If there aren't any normal starters left, we just need to give her a different one," a new voice called out.

Bonnie blinked as she saw Gary Oak, now nineteen-years-old, enter the room. He'd matured quite a bit over the past few years, having gotten taller and letting his hair grow out again so that it was as long as it had been when he started his own Pokémon journey nine years earlier. He was wearing a green t-shirt with jeans and boots and he was also sporting a lab coat similar to Professor Sycamore's. After the events of Unova, Prof. Sycamore had invited him to be his apprentice in his lab, studying the evolution of Pokémon and the bond between Pokémon and their Trainers- a cross between the studies of Gary's former mentor in Sinnoh, Professor Rowan, and the lifetime of research Gary's grandfather, Samuel, was still performing back in Pallet Town, respectively.

Gary kneeled in the front of Bonnie, smiling as he patted her on the head.

"Let me tell you a little story. My best friend, Ash Ketchum, woke up very late on the day he was supposed to get his starter Pokémon from my grandfather. I was a jerk to him back then; I'd always known he would want to choose Squirtle, so I took Squirtle for myself. The other two kids starting their journeys that day got Bulbasaur and Charmander, leaving nothing for Ash to choose. Ash was stubborn, though, so he begged my grandfather to give him a Pokémon, no matter what it was. He did, and Pikachu became Ash's starter. They didn't get along well at first, but after Ash saved Pikachu from a flock of angry Spearow, it created a deep bond between them- so deep, in fact, that after Ash's death, Pikachu vowed to remain by his tombstone for the rest of his life." Then, Gary took a Poké Ball from his belt and held it out to Bonnie. "This may not be a Pichu or a Pikachu, but I think he will be a great partner to you."

Gary opened the Poké Ball, and from its red light emerged a small and cute Dedenne. Bonnie couldn't stop herself from breaking out into a huge smile as she hugged Dedenne. Dedenne returned the smile as he nuzzled against his new Trainer, accidentally shocking her. Gary smiled as he got up, saying the bond had already formed. Prof. Sycamore had his doubts, but he could see Dedenne really liked the blond girl.

"How about you start with two partners at once?"

Everyone turned their heads to find a young, ebony-haired man with a lab coat and beautiful red eyes watching them from the doorway.

"Blue? What are you doing here?" Prof. Sycamore asked.

Bonnie looked confused until Blue moved away and revealed a small Riolu to her.

"Sapphire!" Bonnie shouted happily as the Riolu smiled and ran to the young Trainer, hugging Bonnie happily.

Blue explained to Gary and Sycamore that the Riolu, Sapphire, always visited the city's orphanage to play with the children living there, but she had a special connection with Bonnie and had implored to be Bonnie's partner when she found out the girl would be coming to the lab for her starter that day. Prof. Sycamore understood the situation and allowed Bonnie to keep both Sapphire and Dedenne, and Gary had the honor of giving the girl her Kalos Pokédex. Bonnie thanked them as she waved goodbye and left with Dedenne and Sapphire trailing behind her excitedly.

As soon as the group was out of the lab, Gary looked at Blue with curious eyes.

"Blue, are you sure it was wise to let your kid go with her? Bonnie is an inexpedient Trainer."

Blue smirked as he removed his illusion, revealing his true form. He said Sapphire had formed a special connection with Bonnie when the girl was brought to the orphanage. Bonnie had entered a deep depression when her brother, Clemont, died in an explosion when one of his inventions backfired on him a year earlier. Since Blue's daughter could feel the emotions of people through their Aura, she dedicated herself to making Bonnie happier again.

"When I heard my daughter talk about Bonnie, I knew she was destined to be her partner. Even if you hadn't allowed Bonnie to take her, I don't think Sapphire would have chosen to stay here and let that Dedenne have her all to himself."

Gary chuckled. He knew Blue was right, since he had heard cases of Pokémon taking interest in certain people and stalking them until the person decided to be their Trainer. Gary chanced a look out the window to see if he could spot the new Trainer and her Pokémon and was surprised to see the same old miko from before on the other side of the street drinking some tea at one of the city's many outdoor cafés.

"Blue, help the professor with his research on Mega Evolutions for me for a moment. I'm going to take a little coffee break."

Blue looked confused but said nothing, nodding and returning to the lab. Gary walked outside and crossed the street, sitting at the same table as the old miko.

"You've kept busy since the last time we saw each other," the miko commented to Gary.

"Yeah. It's been a while. I heard your ghost Pokémon are messing with people's stuff again."

She growled and muttered something about sending them to the inverted world to meet Giratina if they kept messing with people's spiritual things before quickly changing the subject.

"So, did you guess who I am?"

Gary smirked.

"It took me a moment to figure it out, but I think I know who you really are," Gary said, looking directly at the miko. "You're Arceus, aren't you?"

The miko gave a wicked smile and said he was right, that she was actually Arceus, the great creator of the Pokémon world. Gary told Arceus that his biggest clue was not when he said he could become any Pokémon type, but when he said he'd known Ash since before he was born. Gary explained that Ash had told him about the events that transpired at Michina Town in Sinnoh and how he and his friends had to travel through time to fix the mistakes of the past and save their future. Then, Gary asked Arceus why he'd chosen to disguise himself as an old lady. Arceus smirked.

"I can disguise myself as humans from many different races, sizes, ages, and genders, but the old miko disguise is my favorite because no one would ever suspect it as being Arceus."

"That's true; that form is too creepy for anyone to think it would belong to the creator of our world," muttered Gary as he sweatdropped. "Anyways, I seem to recall you mentioning that you would give me a reward if I guessed your true identity correctly."

"So I did," Arceus said. "You see, I have a deep connection with Ash. I'll admit, I wanted him to be my spirit guardian, but the problem was that many other legendaries wanted him, as well. Since none of us could come to an agreement, I decided it would be better for us and for Ash if he were simply reincarnated, effectively ending our dispute over him; however, I have continued to keep watch over him, ever since he hatched as a little Riolu. I actually didn't know which Pokémon he should be reborn as until I overheard your chat with him the night before his demise."

Gary became serious as he asked Arceus if he'd known that Ash was going to die that day. Arceus nodded, telling him he'd known but he couldn't interfere because even he couldn't change the course of destiny. Every living creature's entire destiny was written out the moment they were born, and Ash was destined to die that day.

"I must admit, Gary Oak, that I didn't expect you to be by his side in his final moments. Because of this, you created a connection with him that almost tore you apart in your sorrow, and in my pity for you, I made sure that the course of Ash's new life would allow you to find each other and become reunited someday. Now, before I reveal my reward to you, can you answer a question that has been bothering me for a while? Why didn't you tell Blue that he was Ash's reincarnation when you had the opportunity to tell him?"

Gary became quiet, thinking over his answer before he finally explained why, even though he knew Blue was Ash and saw a lot of Ash in Blue, even a little bit of his personality, why he never told him the truth. The answer was simple: Ash is Ash, and Blue is Blue. They may share the same soul, but they were two entirely different beings, having lived two completely different lives with their own unique experiences. Ash was dead, but his spirit lived on in Blue, whether the Lucario realized it or not. He didn't want the knowledge that he was actually the reincarnation of Gary's best friend to change Blue and become a burden to him, and that was why he'd decided to keep this to himself.

Arceus smiled as he got up, preparing to leave. He was satisfied with the answer.

"You've made a wise decision, Gary Oak. Now, I shall reveal my reward for guessing who I am: you will not lose Blue as you lost Ash. The both of you will live together and die together; when the time comes for you to depart from this world, I will come for both of you, together."

Gary smirked, commenting that he hoped the next time they met would not be any time soon. Arceus smirked in return, telling him it all depended on whether or not Bonnie could stop the great flower of destruction. With that, Arceus left.

Gary was not worried about Arceus's riddles as he walked back to the Pokémon lab, stopping to greet Blue and Prof. Sycamore as he got back to work on his research. All that mattered was that he was alive now, and he had Blue with him. Even if they died, their bond would always be strong- strong enough to transcend several lifetimes. No matter how many times they were reincarnated, they would always be reunited and start on a new journey, together.

THE END

I hope you guys liked the ending of the story. I wanna thank everyone who read and reviewed my story, and I want to thank the Pokémon Company for making the X and Y games, or else I might not have finished the story with the ideas of Mega Evolution and Xerneas.

Now, I want to know your list of what you liked most in this story, such as:

Favorite sad scene  
Favorite characters  
Favorite funny moments  
Favorite surprises

Once again, I want to thank Flock o' Seagulls for beta-editing this. Thank you! I would not have made it this far without your help! =)


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